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CURTIS' BAY; 

Its Superior Advantages and Admirable Location 

AS THE 

Only Existing and Available 

DEEP WATER HARBOR 

Contiguous to tlie City of Baltimore, 

IN CONNKCTION WITH ITS 

EAPIDLT II^CKEASING LOCAL MAXL'FACTUEES, THE 

DEVELOPMENT OF ITS COAL TEAFFIC, AND 

THE ACCOilMODATION OF ITS 

Western and Southern Railroad Connections. 



PUBLISHEI) TINDER THE AUSPICES OF 

THE PATAPSCO LAND COMPANY 

OF 

BALTIMORE CITY. 



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Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the j^a7l8747by 

The Patapsco Land Company of Baltimore City, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



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Printed by John Murpiii- & Co. 
182 Baltimore Street, Baltimore. 



List of Directors. 

JOSEPH W. JENKINS, Baltimore, 3Id, 
JOSHUA HARTSHORNE, " " 

WILLIAM S. RAYNER, " 

HIRAM KAUFMAN, " 

WILLIAM C. PENNINGTON, " 



General Officers. 

WM. C. PENNINGTON, President 

JOSIAS PENNINGTON, Sec'y and Treas'r, Pro tern. 



Office, No. 4 Lexington Buildixg, S. W. Corner of Charles and 
Lexington Streets. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Nearly half a century lias elapsed since the attention of the 
merchants of Baltimore -was fully directed to the necessity for pro- 
viding easy and expeditious lines of communication between the 
city and port, with which they were identified and the then infant 
West, if they wanted to perpetuate the commercial importance of 
Baltimore, and neutralise the prejudicial influence to their interests 
exercised by the public works in Pennsylvania and the Erie canal 
in JXew York. They realized that a large amount of business 
which was legitimately tributary to their city, was being gradually 
attracted to New York and Philadelphia., in consequence of the 
superior facilities for transportation furnished by the States of 
which these two cities were the recognized commercial centres, and 
that their bright anticipations for the future of the " Monumental 
City " would be comparatively blasted unless they could compete 
on more equal terms with their rivals, and furnish for their cus- 
tomers some more expeditious and certain means of transportation 
than those which were coincident to the old fashioned wagon and 
stage routes. At the time alluded to, a project for building the 
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal had been inaugurated and work had 
been commenced, but its success as a commercial undertaking was 
seriously questioned in consequence of the high elevations over which 
it had to be carried, and the scarcity of water, while its projected 
eastern terminus at Georgetown on the banks of the Potomac was 
calculated to prejudice in many respects the commercial interests 
of Baltimore, or at any rate exclude its citizens from the actual 
benefits which had been anticipated from the construction of the 
canal. This fact was so fully realized by a then prominent mer- 
chant of Baltimore, Mr. Philip E. Thomas, that he voluntarily 
withdrew in 1827 from the canal commissionership which he held 
as representative for the State of Maryland, and applied himself 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

enerojetically in connection with Mr. George Brown and other 
prominent citizens of Baltimore, to maturing a plan for building a 
railroad which should be the highway for traffic from the Ohio 
Biver at Wheeling to Baltimore. The ideas as then enunciated 
by Messrs. Thomas, Brown and their associates, appeared at the time 
somewhat chimerical because although short lines of railroad, such 
as the " Stockton and Darlington '' in England and the " Granite 
Branch " near Boston, had been built for the conveyance of coal 
and stone to navigable waters, no railroad had been constructed 
either in Europe or in this country for the general conveyance of 
passengers and produce between distant points : — In brief for gene- 
ral purposes, railroads were regarded as an untried experiment, and 
it was a mooted question whether horses or stationary steam engines 
would be the preferable motor. In laying their plans fully before 
the citizens of Baltimore at that time, and corroborating their views 
by the opinion of prominent engineers both in Europe and America, 
the committee alluded at length to the advantages possessed by the 
citv of Baltimore as beino; 200 miles nearer to the navigable waters 
of the West than New York and 100 miles nearer than Philadel- 
phia, also that the easiest and by far the most practicable route 
through the ridges of mountains which separated the Atlantic from 
the western waters was along the depression formed by the Potomac 
Biver in its passage through them. Special allusion is made to 
these historical facts, as indicating the prescience and business 
sagacity of the Baltimore merchants, and although it is not within 
the sphere of our present duties to trace out the various steps by 
which the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, (incorporated 
in accordance with the vievi'S of Mr. Thomas and his associates in 
1828,) successfully overcame every obstacle which nature, the hatred 
of innovation and political chicanery placed in their path; still the 
inhabitants of the city of Baltimore and the State of Maryland 
may be proud of having been the pioneers of railroad construction 
in this country, of having been practically the founders of a system 
which now extends in an unbroken line from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific; which has pierced mountains and spanned the mighty 
rivers of this vast continent, and which, whether regarded as the 
missionary of civilization or the architect of industrial develop- 
ment and material prosperity has tended to make the United States 



INTRODUCTIOX. 7 

one of the foremost among the nations of the •world, to be respected 
and honored by the dynasties of either hemisphere. These wise 
and good men, who projected a great and glorious future for the 
city of Baltimore, and for the State of which it is the recognized 
commercial centre and manufacturing emporium, rest in their 
honored graves, but the memory of their noble aspirations lives 
fresh and green as the flowers which deck their last homes in the 
hearts of the present generation, whose aim seems to be that Balti- 
more shall avail itself by every legitimate means of the superior 
geographical advantages which it possesses, and that to Its port 
shall converge not merely the traffic originating on the waters 
west of the Alleghanles, but the trade of the Western, South-west- 
ern and North-western States and Territories, the older trans- 
Atlantic countries and of the West Indies and South America. 

It is true that the present proud position of Baltimore in con- 
nection with the commerce of America, is mainly due to the con- 
servative and consistent manner in which successive managers of 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company have adhered to the 
policy of their predecessors; and by advancing, j:>ari passu, with 
the growth of the city in the development of new railroad enter- 
prises, have secured for the railroad proper, as well as for the 
mercantile community, large accretions of wealth; but a question 
naturally arises at this juncture, when the cap stone, (to speak 
figuratively,) is shortly about to be placed on the scheme and sys- 
tem of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, by the com- 
pletion of its new line from Centreton on the Lake Erie Division, 
to Chicago ; and when other railroad lines such as the Baltimore 
and Potomac, Northern Central and Western Maryland are re- 
quiring terminal accommodations at tide-water for a rapidly in- 
creasing coal trade and general traffic, whether the necessary 
facilities for handling such a large accretion of traffic, as will be 
coincident to the growth of the West and the proper development 
of local business, can be furnished either at Locust Point, the 
present tide-water terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 
or at Canton where it was anticipated, (although such anticipations 
have, In consequence of prohibitory rates, not yet been realized,) 
that the tide-water business of the Northern Central and AYestern 
Maryland Railroads would be concentrated. It is the object of 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

this present pamphlet to show, and it is hoped conchisively, that 
other provisions must be speedily made for accommodating the 
prospective traffic of Baltimore and for developing its various 
industries. Should the population and commerce of the city in- 
crease in the same ratio during the present, as in the past decade, 
or should an additional stimulus be given to the manufacturing 
industries, as is now indicated by an evident appreciation of the 
geographical advantages of Baltimore in all sections of the coun- 
try, the existing terminal facilities of the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad Company would not be adequate to their requirements, 
and they would be compelled to seek additional outlets to deep 
water contiguous to their main line of road where the handling of 
produce, general merchandise and coal traffic could be conducted 
economically and expeditiously. The various reasons why a loca- 
tion at Curtis' Bay on the property of The Patapsco Land 
Company would be advisable for the railroad, commercial and 
manufacturing interests are herewith given ; and, in connection 
with the map appended to the pamphlet should convince the capi- 
talists of Baltimore, that the elaborate scheme of improvements 
now contemplated by the company owning the property is destined 
to attract a large increase of capital to Baltimore, to build up its 
commercial supremacy, and enable it to compete on more than 
equal terms with the rival cities of Boston, New York and Phila- 
delphia ; in fact, the new town of Pennington, to be erected on 
the Curtis' Bay property, is in all probability destined to become 
for Baltimore what Brooklyn, Jersey City and Hoboken have been 
to New York City. 

That these facts have been fully appreciated by some of the 
leading business men of the city, is evidenced by the fact that 
the property now about to be improved and adapted for a port, 
has been held by its present owners for nearly a quarter of a 
century ; it has been held for such a term of years with a firm 
confidence that its merits as a shipping point would be ultimately 
appreciated, and that, by retaining its control, they would be in- 
strumental in developing the geographical advantages of which 
nature had made them the possessors, and in which their fellow-' 
citizens were so deeply interested, as enabling them to carry out' 
well conceived plans for the commercial preeminence of Baltimore. 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

To render the comprehension of the value of this property per- 
fectly intelligible, it is proposed to allude in detail to the following 
subjects : 

(1.) Baltimoee, its early foundation, growth and present condi- 
tion. 
(2.) Advantages of location for commercial and manufactur- 
ing purposes. 
(3.) Situation of harbor. 
(4.) Railroad connections. 
(5.) Present terminal facilities. 
(6.) Difficulties in the way of further development at existing 

termini. 
(7.) Curtis' Bay: its advantages as a port and as a manu- 
facturing centre. 
(8.) Present plan of The Patapsco Land Company of 
Baltimore City, for developing their property. 



10 BALTIMORE — ITS EARLY FOUNDATION, 



(I.) BALTIMORE— ITS EAELY FOUNDATION, 
GROWTH AND PRESENT CONDITION. 



The town of Baltimore, with sixty acres of ground, was founded 
in 1729, on the north side of the Patapsco, and was named after 
Lord Baltimore, to whom the State of Maryland was originally 
granted in 1633. The country had, however, been previously dis- 
covered by a Captain John Smith, in 1606, and there was a popu- 
lation in Maryland, about 1659, amounting according to the most 
reliable returns, to more than 12,000. Tobacco was the great 
product of the province at that early date, and the ancient chroni- 
cles assert that a hundred sail of ships a year from the West Indies 
and from England, traded in this article, Avhich to use the phrase- 
ology of that period, was the source of a very large revenue to the 
English crown, at a vast expense, industry and hazard to the Lord 
of Baltimore. In 1706, an act was passed creating "Whetstone," 
now better known as Locust Point, a town ; but no definite pro- 
gress towards definitely locating the town appears to have been 
made under the provisions of this act, and in 1729, efforts were 
made to found a city on the property which looks in on Spring 
Gardens, then owned by a Mr. John Moale, a merchant from 
Devonshire, but the project was strenuously opposed by him 
through the belief that his property w^as rich in iron ore, and he 
had sufficient influence with the Legislature, of which he was a 
member, to defeat the plan. From these causes the original 
founders of Baltimore were compelled, against their own wishes, 
to abandon the level land, and seek a location for their embryo 
city, under the hills and amid the marshes of the north-western 
branch, where Charles and Daniel Carroll had agreed to sell certain 
property amounting to about sixty acres. In 1745, Jones Town 
was incorporated with the city of Baltimore, under the latter's 
corporate name, and in 1747, a then unoccupied portion of land, 
about eighteen acres, lying between Baltimore and Jones Town 
was absorbed into the municipality. Twenty-two years after 



GROAVTH AND PRESENT CONDITION. 11 

Baltimore had been incorporated, viz: in 1751, the commercial re- 
qaireraents of the city had increased so rapidly that the erection 
of a market house and town hall was deemed advisable. The war 
between the English and French in the few succeeding years had 
a tendency to increase the population of the town of Baltimore 
proper by inducing the inhabitants of the State to remain in the 
older settlements, and not penetrate into the sparsely settled in- 
terior where they were subject to annoyances and attacks from the 
hostile forces, and more especially from the Indians. In 1776, 
the population of Baltimore received considerable accessions from 
the refugees from Nova Scotia, and there was a perceptible grow^th 
in the city developments and in its manufacturing industries. 
Ship yards were established at what was then known as Fell's 
Point, and a large trade for the then infant province was carried 
on more especially in tobacco, but in lesser proportion in wheat, 
lumber, corn, flour, pig and bar iron, skins and furs. The ex- 
ports of tobacco alone from Maryland to England, were estimated 
in 1763, to be about 28,000 hogsheads annually, valued at 
.£140,000, and the greater proportion of this trade paid tribute 
directly and indirectly to the mercantile enterprise of Baltimore. 
Nothing indicates more clearly the general prosperity of the 
province and its rapid development in thirty years after the foun- 
dation of Baltimore, than the increase of population during that 
period. In 1733, (according to returns given by Mr. George E. 
Howard,) the taxable population, (including males above the age 
of sixteen, and all negro and mulatto femdes,) numbered 31,470. 
Fifteen years afterwards the entire population was 130,000, 
(94,000 whites and 36,000 blacks.) In 1756, it had increased to 
154,188, (107,963 whites and 46,225 blacks.) In 1761, it 
amounted to 161,307, (114,332 whites and 46,975 blacks.) It is 
not within the province of this pamphlet to trace the various steps 
by which the ill-advised homo government attempted by restrictive 
legislation and prohibitory measures, to stifle the growth of manu- 
factures in the province of Maryland, and thereby render one of 
her colonies dependent on England for all its trade in manu- 
factured articles; nor to show how the formation of a mercantile 
marine was stopped by restricting the trade of the province to 
English ports^ and insisting that such trade should be only carried 



12 BALTIMORE — ITS EARLY FOUNDATION, 

in English bottoms. It is irrelevant also to show how this pro- 
tective and prohibitory system crushed out any spirit of servile 
adulation and compromise which might have resulted from a 
, temperate recognition of just claims by the then British adminis- 
tration. These and kindred topics have been ably and success- 
fully handled by historians of the past and present, suffice it to 
say that the very action which was taken to repress independence 
only added fuel to the fire, it developed in the early settlers of this 
country an energy of character and a spirit of honest reliance and 
manly virtue, which handed down to posterity and cherished as 
valuable heir looms, bid fair unless the temper and disposition of 
succeeding generations are warped by an excess of prosperity to 
make the United States in social and mental characteristics as it is 
in the publicly and varied character of its resources, the first 
country in the workl. An active and independent population 
thrown on its own resources soon adapts itself to the new situation 
of affairs; h^nce, it is not surprising to find that in 1778, factories 
and mills for the manufacture of linen, woolen goods, nails, paper 
and iron were at work in Baltimore; fast sailing traders were 
built and a considerable traffic was carried on by them during the 
Ilevolutionary war with the West Indies ; in fact, even under what 
would have appeared to most people, very unfavorable auspices, 
the commerce of the town of Baltimore increased so rapidly that 
in 1780 a custom house was established, and merchants were re- 
lieved from the annoyance and inconvenience attendant on entering 
and clearing their vessels at the port of Annapolis as had been 
formerly customary. 

A fresh stimulus was given to the commercial enterprise and 
activity of Baltimore by the French revolution and the protracted 
war resulting therefrom, which devastated the continent of Europe, 
and by the interruption of agricultural pursuits, caused a greater 
demand for American wheat and flour. The colonial dependen- 
cies also of the various conflicting powers were forced, by being 
cut off from Iheir home connections, to open up trade with a neu- 
tral, and America profited immensely by becoming a market for 
the sale of produce, and for the purchase of necessary supplies. It 
was at this time,, more especially from 1790 to 1801, and again 
from 1803 to 1812, that Baltimore became the recognized entrepot . 



GROWTH AND PRESENT CONDITION. 13 

for traffic between the West Indies and all ports of Europe, and, 
notwithstanding the heavy risk incurred in blockade running, ves- 
sels built on the Chesapeake were uniformly successful in evading 
the cruisers of every blockading squadron, and in transacting a 
remunerative business. Nor were the growth and prosperity of 
Baltimore fostered merely by a foreign carrying trade — emigration 
had commenced to flow slowly but steadily towards the West, and 
it was found that the geography of the country plainly indicated 
Baltimore to be the original and natural terminus of internal 
American trade on the Atlantic seaboard. Hence we find that, 
even at that early date, a considerable traffic was carried on witli 
the embryo settlements on the navigable waters of the West. It 
is true that this traffic was carried on at, what will seem to us at 
the present day, considerable disadvantage, and there was great 
delay in transportation, but the pack horses of the revolutionary 
period were quickly superseded by the cumbrous six or eight 
horse covered wagon, the narrow and circuitous paths along which 
the pack trains moved along in single file were supplanted by the 
substantial turnpike, and the old " Braddock's Road" will be in 
succeeding generations as suggestive a memento of the commercial 
enterprise of Maryland and her merchants as the canals and rail- 
roads. It may be appropriately noted here, that in ]796 — sixty- 
seven years after its original foundation — the town of Baltimore 
was elevated to the dignity of a city, and a charter of incorpora- 
tion, under the name of the " Mayor and City Council of Balti- 
more," was granted by the State Legislature. The statistics of the 
United States census at this time furnish data relative to the growth 
of the city, which may be interesting. In 1790 the population 
was 13,603 ; in 1800, 31,514, and in 1810, 46,555, an increase of 
nearly 350 per cent. A temporary check was given to the devel- 
opment of the city of Baltimore, by the war with England, from 
1812 to 1814; also, by the establishment of peace throughout 
Europe in 1815 and a withdrawal to the ships of the various 
trans-Atlantic nationalities of the traffic which had been carried 
for some time in American bottoms ; still, there was a continued 
increasing demand, during several years, for American wheat and 
other produce, while new traffic with South America, and more 
especially with the newly established empire of Brazil, compen- 



14 BALTIMOEE — ITS EAELY FOUNDATION, 

sated for any diversions of business into other channels. It could 
not be expected that Baltimore should have been exempted from the 
disastrous financial complications resulting from the establishment 
of the United States Bank, — complications which culminated in 
1819, and which involved many enterprising mercantile firms and 
individual subscribers in utter ruin and penury. It was also 
disastrously affected by the panics of ]837 and 1857, and its com- 
merce, which had thriven immensely under exceptional causes, 
from 1790 to 1815, did not show a corresponding increase in the 
forty-five years immediately subsequent to the pacification of 
Europe ; but still, there was a steady and permanent growth, and 
the population which, in 1820, was 62,738, had risen, in 1860, to 
212,418, as will be seen from the following returns of the United 
States census : 

Year. State of Maryland. County of Baltimore. City of Baltimore. 

aS20 298,269 90,201 02,738 

1830 399,455 120,870 80,625 

1840 501,793 134,379 102,313 

1850 583,034 210,040 109,054 

1860 687,049 266,553 212,418 

It might be well, before proceeding further in the history of the 
growth of Baltimore, to note that in the forty-five years ending 
1860, alluded to above, her name is prominently associated with 
three of the most important improvements of the present century. 
Baltimore was the first city in America, according to the most 
reliable records, which was lit with gas — viz: in 1816. The citi- 
zens of Baltimore were, in 1827, the first to inaugurate a system 
of railroads for the transportation of passengers and general mer- 
chandise, while, seventeen years later, in 1844, it was between 
Baltimore and Washington that the first electric telegraph, not 
merely in America, but in the world, was erected. Had the city, 
during that period of nearly half a century, inscribed nothing else 
on her chart of progress and material development than these three 
isolated facts, she would be justly entitled to the gratitude of civi- 
lized America and the panegyrics of millions. 

A severe, although temporary check to the growth of Balti- 
more resulted from the civil war, which lasted from 1861 to 1865. 
Traffic with the South was entirely suspended; industries on which 



GROWTH AXD PRESENT CONDITION. 15 

the inhabitants had been entirely dependent were paralyzed, and 
commercial relations Avith the West were interrupted and par- . 
tially diverted to other cities. It is not our province to criticise 
the causes which brought about this civil war, nor the attitude 
which was assumed by the majority of the inhabitants of Mary- 
land at the time of a most eventful crisis in the nation's history ; 
suffice it to say, that great allowance should in every case be made 
for early education,- sympathy and associations. If the people of 
Baltimore erred in their understanding and interpretation of that 
great contest; if they leaned more to the Confederate than the 
Federal cause, it must be candidly admitted that such errors (if 
they were errors) were conscientious and in accordance with their 
interpretation of right and duty — the convictions on which their 
actions were based were honest — the proclivities which influenced 
them were deep-seated and meritorious ; and the records of both con- 
tending armies show how many noble spirits sealed their faith, to 
write figuratively, with their life-blood, — how the fervor and manly 
courage of their ancestors, as recorded on many a battle-field 
during the Revolutionary war, had been indelibly impressed on 
the scions of a succeeding generation. There is no doubt that 
Baltimore suffered very severely from the frontier position which 
was occupied by the State of Maryland, and that although her soil 
was on but two occasions the field of battle between the armies 
of the Korth and South, still a general tone of depression and 
demoralization was engendered by the continued presence of troops 
within her territories, and by the continued suspicion of sympathy 
with the South to which the citizens were unfortunately subjected; 
but during this period of forced commercial inactivity, except in 
30 far as Government contracts were concerned, plans were being 
matured for developing the trade and commerce of the city; new 
avenues of traffic were sketched out; — the business of the West 
might have been temporarily diverted, but it had not been irre- 
vocably lost; — the South might be temporarily paralyzed, but its 
recuperative energy was still on a par with that of other sections 
of the American continent, and until it regained in happier times 
its normal condition of prosperity and affluence there was a large 
possible European commerce to be built up ; — the local resources of 
the city and State were to be developed, and a fresh impetus might 



16 BALTIMORE — ITS EARLY FOUNDATION, 

be given, by a correct representation of geographical advantages, 
to the investment of foreign capital and to the immigration of 
skilled labor. The plans thus matured have not proved chimeri- 
cal ; — already the tide is turning in favor of Baltimore, the grana- 
ries of the West are pouring their riches along the well-developed 
arteries of transportation into the elevators erected by the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad Company at Locust Point; other pro- 
ducts of the Mississippi Valley and the great North-west respond 
to the facilities furnished and converge to Baltimore, while the 
fleet of German and English steamers constantly plying between 
this and European ports testifies that the ideas which induced the 
founders of Baltimore town to prophesy its commercial supremacy 
were by no means exaggerated, and that the natural geographical 
laws of location remain immutable. 

The following statistics indicate very clearly the truth of these 
statements : 





1800. 


1870. 


1871. 


1872. 


Imports at the Port of Baltimore...., 


..$9,784,773 


S2!, 017,313 


$20,770,181 


$29,429,439 


Exports of Domestic Merchandise. 


.. 8,084,606 


12,396,518 


18,236,160 


17,381,591 



The census returns for 1 870 show that the industrial products 
of the city and county of Baltimore amounted to the sum of 
$59,219,993, in which was employed a capital of $26,040,040. 
The population of the city proper had increased from 212,418 in 
1860, to 267,569 in 1870, and a school census, taken in October, 
1873, proves that it has now risen to 319,000. The assessed 
value of property at the time of taking the census in 1870 was 
$237,806,530, and its real value $401,634,738; the tonnage of the 
port was at the same time 150,086, and the city debt $13,568,431, 
or at the rate of about $51 per capita of population. 

And yet Baltimore is in its comparative infancy, the commer- 
cial growth of the past eight years merely indicates its capabilities 
for further development when its superior advantages of economi- 
cal transportation are more thoroughly known and appreciated by 
the producers of the West and by the consumers of the East; when 
it becomes, as in former years, the trading mart of the South, and 
when all sectional diiFerences have been obliterated by the inter- 
change of progressive ideas and by a growing similarity of iu« 
terest. 



GROWTH AND PRESENT CONDITION. 17 

More weight will perhaps be attached to these brief remarks on 
the growth and present condition of Baltimore, when it is known 
bj the reader that they emanate from one who is not identified 
with the city, but who has been compelled, in the course of his 
professional duties and literary avocations, to study carefully, and 
it is hoped impartially, the relative merits of different cities in 
the Union, now engaged in a healthy competition for commercial 
supremacy and prestige. Those who are blinded by the preju- 
dices of early education and associations with certain localities, 
may fail to recognize the geographical fact that Baltimore is 
NEAREST the North, nearest^ the South, nearest the AVest, in 
fact, so central on the seaboard as to be nearest all classes of 
industry and of production. They may attempt to ignore the fact 
that it is nearest the manufacturer of the North, the i)roducer of 
the West, the cotton planter of the South and the purchasers of 
Europe and the West Indies or South America ; they may claim 
that the capital or influence of other States and cities can divert 
traffic from its ordinary geographical short lines of transportation 
into more circuitous routes, but any correct and truthful not dls- 
torted map will show them that Baltimore is the natural, not arti- 
ficial, depot of internal traffic, and that the trunk line, with which 
its history is so closely identified, is, at any rate for the present, the 
shortest and MOST direct avenue of communication between the 
West and the Atlantic seaboard, thence to Europe. The merchants 
and public men of Baltimore will be strangely recreant to the princi- 
ples which animated their forefathers, if they fail to avail themselves 
of their present vantage ground, and do not anticipate the com- 
mercial requirements of their city. The solid men should come 
to the front. The press, of whatever shade of politics, should be 
a unit in laboring for the development of Baltimore and its com- 
mercial and manufacturing importance, and provision should be 
made at once to accommodate an import and export trade amount- 
ing, within the next five years, to more than eighty million dol- 
lars, annually, in the aggregate. 

Allusion has now been made to Baltimore, its early founda- 
tion, growth and present condition; it has been shown, and it is 
hoped satisfactorily, that few, if any, cities of the Union can show 
a similar percentage of increase in population, manufactures and 
2 



18 BALTIMOEE — ITS EARLY FOUNDATION, &C. 

commercial and industrial resources as Baltimore : but it would be 
wrong to leave this topic without mentioning briefly other than 
geographical advantages which Baltimore possesses for attracting 
population and consequently wealth. Prominent among these 
advantages may be mentioned the climate, which, as the city is 
situated about the centre of the Atlantic coast, is not subject to the 
intense cold of Northern latitudes, nor to the tropical eccentricities 
of the more Southern States; in brief, it is equable, balmy and 
healthy, while the location of the city, on a succession of hills 
rising gradually from the harbor, prevents in a very marked 
manner the occurrence of those mephitic and miasmatic vapors 
to which other cities not so advantageously located are subject. 
In addition, Baltimore is naturally well drained and sewered; a 
heavy rain must carry off all the impurities of the streets, and in 
the absence of such rain there is enough water available for city 
purposes to compensate for any irregularity of nature. Again, 
apart from the climate, which is all that could be desired by even 
the most fastidious, and apart from the easy and moderate rentals 
which must tend to build up the population of Baltimore, there 
is its Public School system which in providing the best means of 
education, strengthens the moral influence of the city and educates 
the rising generation, not merely in the habits of the past, but 
in those ideas of the future which should be coexistent with its 
growth to man's estate. 



BALTIMORE — ITS ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION, &C. 19 



(II.) BALTIMORE— ITS ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION 
FOR COMMERCIAL AND MANUFACTURING PUR- 
POSES. 



Prior to the outbreak of the rebellion, the commerce of Balti- 
more "was much less developed than now. It is true that even 
then the Baltimore clippers had a world-wide renown, and were 
constantly employed in the trade to Havana and other South 
American ports. It is true that in the sale and manufacture of 
tobacco, as well as in the packing of oysters, fruits, vegetables, 
&c., the '^Monumental City" had acquired an enviable repu- 
tation. A large trade also was transacted with the merchants 
of the South, and indirectly with the section of country lying 
West of the Alleghanies ; but no systematic efforts were made to 
render Baltimore a commercial metropolis and a centre to which 
the traffic of all the Southern cities and the ^yest, as well as 
Europe, should radiate, until 1866, when the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad Company determined to complete the policy consistently 
pursued by its former managers, and by developing its Western 
connections ; also, by the erection of elevators and the establish- 
ment of a steamship line between Baltimore and Europe, inaugu- 
rate a new era in the history of the commercial metropolis of Mary- 
land. All these movements, however, would have been unavailing 
had not nature furnished, in the geographical location of the city, 
advantages which could not be ignored for commercial and manu- 
facturing purposes. Situate near the Chesapeake bay, on the 
Patapsco river, with a climate unsurpassed for salubrity, with a 
hygienic record superior to that of any other large city in the 
United States, with abundant capital available for the develop- 
ment of all legitimate enterprises, and with a population equally 
allied in sentiment and consanguinity with the Northern and 
Southern States, Baltimore could not be backward in progress and 
material development; — she was forced to recognize the claims 
which nature made on the enterprise and perseverance of her citi- 



20 BALTIMORE — ITS ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION FOR 

zens, and to labor in the creation and perpetuation of a brilliant 
and j)rosperous future. The truth of these remarks will be readily 
recognized by reference to the map of the United States, where it 
will be seen that Baltimore is the most accessible port for Peters- 
burg, Norfolk, Richmond, Wilmington, IST. C, Charleston, Savan- 
nah, Key West, Havana, New Orleans and Galveston. Regular 
lines of steamers are now in successful operation to the ports above 
mentioned, while a large traffic is carried on by canal and ocean to 
Philadelphia, New York, Providence and Boston. It is not, how- 
ever, merely by her water facilities that Baltimore can claim the 
palm for superior geographical location. Had she been dependent 
on tliese alone, without possessing short-rail lino advantages, com- 
mercial preeminence would have been in every respect a failure; in 
fact, the economies of distance, from the recognized centres of trade in 
favor of Baltimore, as compared with New York, are so thoroughly 
recognized by the Federal Government that $300,000 was appro- 
priated by Congress in 1871 and 1872, with great unanin^ity, for 
deepening the channel, and $65,000 for supplying range lights of 
the most improved description for the approaches to the harbor of 
Baltimore. The comparative economies of distances alluded to 
will be apparent from the following table : 



Comparative Distances to Baltimore, New York and 
Philadelphia. 

FROM PITTSBURG, PA., 

To Baltimore via Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , 327 milea. 

" New York via Pennsylvania Railroad 431 " 

" Philadelphia via Pennsylvania Railroad Sot " 

Difference in favor of Baltimore as arainst New York 104 miles. 

" " " ' " " Philadelphia 27 " 

FROM CINCINNATI, OHIO, 

To Baltimore, via Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 589 miles, 

/•via New York Central Railroad 883 " 

" New York, J via Erie Railway 801 " 

(.via Pennsylvania 741 " 

" Philadelphia, via Pennsylvania Railroad C67 " 

Difference in favor of Baltimore as against average distance to New Yoik... 240 miles. 
" " " " " distance to Philadelphia 78 " 



COMMEECIAL AND MANUFACTUEIXG PURPOSES. 21 



FROM LOUISVILLE, KY., 

To Baltimore, via Baltimore find Ohio Railroad COGiriilesi 

/■via New York Central Railroad 0S9 " 

'' Kew Y"ork,-| via Erie Railway 9S7 ■' 

tvia Pennsylvania Railroad S51 " 

" Philadelphia, via Pennsylvania Railroad 7T-1 " 

Difference in favor of Baltimore as against average distance to New Y'ork... 246 miles. 
" " " " " distance to Philadelphia 78 " 

FROM CHICAGO, ILL., 

To Baltimore, via Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 795 miles. 

/•via New York Central Railroad 980 " 

" NewY'ork,< via Eric Railway 961 " 

( via Pennsylvania Railroad S99 " 

" Philadelphia, via Pennsylvania Railroad 833 " 

Difference in favor of Baltimore as against average distance to New York... 132 miles. 
" " " " " distance to Philadelphia 18 " 

FROM ST. LOUIS, MO., 

To Baltimore, via Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 929 miles. 

/-via Now York Central Railroad 1167 " 

" New York,-! via Eric Railway 1201 " 

(.via Pennsylvania Railroad 1050 " 

*' Philadelphia, via Pennsylvania Railroad 973 " 

Diflerence in favor of Baltimore as agains-t average distance to New York... 210 miles. 
" '• " " " distance to Philadelphia 44 " 

From all points south of Baltimore the distance in favor of 
Baltimore is 200 miles. "With these short line advantages in its 
favor over one of the recognized grand Trunk lines of the country, 
with the lumber, coal and general traffic of Pennsylvania and 
Western New York converging to it over the line of the Northern 
Central Railway, with the almost inexhaustible coal supplies of 
the Cumberland Basin tributary to the Western Maryland Rail- 
road, brought even now to the city limits, and with the large 
prospective business of the South, transported over the Baltimore 
and Potomac and Washington Branch Railroads, the city of Balti- 
more has, undeniably, advantages of location for commercial pro- 
gress and development; advantages, which can only be limited by 
the ability of its capitalists and business-men to appreciate fully 
the situation and further the march of progressive improvement 
by temperate and well advised investments. 

It may be appropriately noted in this connection, that during 
the ten years ending September 30th, 1873, the Through Tonnage 
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad increased from 166,118 tons, 



22 BALTIMORE — ITS ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION FOR 

to 640,205 tons, or very nearly 400 per cent,; also, tliat during^the 
four years ending September, 30th, 1873, the through as distinct 
from local tonnage showed an increase of more tlian 220 per cent., 
viz: from 286,835 tons in year ending September 30th, 1870, to 
640,265 tons in fiscal year ending September 30th, 1873. The 
following statement is also indicative of the business growth of 
the city, and its rapid commercial development : 

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. 1872. 1S73. Increase. 

Through Merchandise East and West Tons, 557,009 640,205 82,05G 

Corn and other Cereals Bushels, 0,049,430 7,510,657 1,401,227 

Barrels of Flour 757,842 940,027 182,785 

Live Stock .Tons, 72,031 87,000 15,02!) 

The coal traffic increased during the same period 358,459 tons, 
amounting to 2,019,718 tons in fiscal year ending September 30th, 
1873, as against 1,661,259 tons in 1872; and, while from excep- 
tional causes there was a decrease in the lumber traffic for 1873 of 
5,161 tons as compared with the previous year, still the tonnage 
from that source was 9,292 tons in excess of year ending Sen- 
tember 30th, 1871. 

Attention might also be drawn to the fact, that the only existing 
drawback to the commerce of Baltimore, viz : the danger of navi- 
gation round Cape Charles will shortly be obviated by the con- 
struction of the " Maryland and Delaware Ship Canal," across the 
peninsula of the states of Maryland and Delaware uniting the 
waters of the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. The company 
which proposes to construct this canal was chartered by the Gene- 
ral Assembly of the State of Maryland in April, 1872, and by 
the Legislature of the State of Delaware in March, 1873. The 
capital stock authorized by the Maryland charter is $ 2,000,000, 
with power to increase to $4,000,000 in case the authorized issue 
of $4,000,000 six per cent, bonds does not prove sufficient to com- 
plete the canal. One route has been surveyed for this new canal 
called the "Sassafras Route," and the distance from the point 
where the navigation of the Sassafras river ends, to the mouth of 
Blackbird Creek on Delaware Bay is seventeen miles. The head- 
waters of the Sassafras river and Blackbird creek meet in the 
centre of the peninsula, and formerly the tides flowed within three 
miles of each other and it seems the natural course for a ship 



COMMERCIAL AND MAXUFACTUEING PURPOSES. 23 

canal ; but there is some diversity of opinion relative to the res- 
pective merits of the Sassafras and Chester rivers in connection 
with an outlet to Chesapeake Bay, and pending that decision work 
]ias not been yet commenced. The advantage of this ship canal 
as now projected cannot be over estimated, in view of the fact that 
it lessens the distance by water communication from Baltimore to 
all the northern and eastern and European ports about 225 miles ; 
in addition to avoiding the dangerous navigation around Cape 
Charles, alluded to above. Commerce will naturally be attracted 
to the point w^here capital exists and where there is cheap trans- 
portation. Of the presence of capital in Baltimore, and of its 
more equal distribution among the community there than in any 
mercantile city of the same class there can be no doubt, and if, by 
the construction of this ship canal, coal, iron, lumber, lime, to- 
bacco and flour, which constitute extensive shipments can be 
shipped to New York at ninety cents less per ton than by the old 
Chesapeake and Delaware canal, which is circuitous in its route, 
is worked by horses and is subject to detention by locks, the 
commerce of Baltimore will be considerably aggrandized. Allu- 
sion has been made to the fact that commerce will naturally be 
attracted to the point where capital exists and where there is cheap 
transportation; justice to the j)ublic-spi riled individuals who have 
fully appreciated the correct geographical position of Baltimore as 
a commercial centre, demands that we should notice in this connec- 
tion some elements of superiority over New York which cannot be 
ignored ; and in mentioning New York, we do so on the ground 
that it has been erroneously assumed to be the grand objective 
point for all foreign business. In New York, steamers arriving 
from Europe are subjected to heavy port charges, in addition to a 
large annual rental for wharves ; freight destined for inland points 
has to be carted from the steamship pier to the receiving depot of 
the railroad on which the consignee is located ; otherwise, if there is 
any delay in passing it through the custom house, it is mercilessly 
consigned to some bonded warehouse, and after protracted delay, 
with numerous charges affixed, reaches its destination. Again, 
emigrants arriving at New York are sent to Castle Garden from Ho- 
boken, Jersey City or whatever pier the European steamer is docked 
at ; they are exposed for some days in the majority of instances to 



24 BALTIMOEE — ITS ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION FOR 

the machinations of boarding house runners, and the wily tricks 
of soi-disant emigrant agents, and finally after having learnt by 
costly experience the attractions of the " Empire City" they are 
forwarded to the railway stations from Avhich they take the cars 
for the West. At Baltimore, however, the case is very different, 
there is no cartage of goods destined for the West, steamers come 
into port immediately alongside the piers and warehouses, erected 
by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, and the only ex- 
pense of transfer is the movement from the ship to the railroad 
car over a platform of about 40 feet. This reduces the cost of 
handling to a minimum, and the fact is so thoroughly appreciated 
by the Western and Southern merchants, that while the gold coin 
duties in 1866 amounted to but little more than $4,000,000, they 
were upwards of $10,000,000, in 1873. Again look at the emi- 
grant. Landing at the commodious piers alluded to, either from 
the North-German Lloyds' or Allan Steamers, he finds in a place 
secluded from all danger and annoyance a bureau-du-change, where 
English or German coin and notes can be exchanged for current 
funds, his baggage is passed by the custom house, and he takes the 
cars on the pier at the side of the steamer and is forwarded with- 
out cost and delay to such point in the West or JS[orth-west, as he 
may select. Accurate enquiry into the merits of the system pur- 
sued by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company indicates that 
the advantages offered are duly appreciated. There are instances 
where steamers have recently come in with more than 800 emi- 
grants, and each one realizing the comforts and conveniences of a 
port where he has been so well treated, becomes a living advertiser 
for the place where he first received such favorable impressions, he 
naturally indicates his preference for Baltimore as the objective 
jioint for all immigration from the "Faderland" or the "Ould 
Counthry." As an illustration of the progress which the foreign 
commerce of the port of Baltimore has made during the past eight 
years under these auspices, it may be noted that at the close of the 
war, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company purchased from 
the government of the United States four steamships named re- 
spectively, Alleghany, Carroll, Somerset and Worcester. These 
vessels were found to have too limited a carrying capacity to insure 
remunerative returns and they were discontinued in 1870, but 



COMMERCIAL AND MANUFACTUEIXG PURPOSES. 25 

prior to their discontinuance in 1868, a contract had been entered 
into with the North German Lloyds' Line to establish a regular 
line between Baltimore, Southampton and Bremen. The two first 
built were named the "Baltimore" and the "Berlin," and ex- 
perience demonstrated that the business was ample and remunera- 
tive from the inauguration of the interprise, in fact during the two 
succeeding years the accretions of traffic were so much in excess of 
^their anticipations that in 1870, two splendid new steamers the 
"Leipsic" and the "Ohio" were added to the fleet, and this in- 
crease has been further supplemented since that date, that two 
additional new steamships, viz: the "Braunschweig" and the 
"jSTurnberg" each of 3,000 tons burthen, and furnished with all 
the modern improvements, have been placed in the weekly line 
between Baltimore and Bremen via Southampton. The Liverpool 
steamship owners have also been sagacious enough to recognize the 
importance of the commerce which converges to Baltimore, and 
the Managers of the Allan Line, after a brief (and it is believed 
unsatisfactory) experiment of Norfolk as a shipping point have 
within the past two years placed nine large and first-class steamers 
on the route between Baltimore and Liverpool. Definite impor- 
tance has thus been attached to the commerce of Baltimore, its 
geographical advantages for controlling the import and export 
trade of a large section of the United States, have been unequivo- 
cally demonstrated, and its merchants will be strangely recreant 
to the principles and aspirations by which they have been hitherto 
animated unless they make still further developments and attract to 
their city a traffic which will keep a fleet of at least thirty steamers 
constantly occupied. These suggestions are not chimerical because 
if results have been attained during eight years similar to what have 
been alluded to above with Western and South-western connections 
imperfectly and inadequately developed and with the most prolific 
portion of oiir common country, paralyzed by the prostration inci- 
dent to the war and the reconstruction policy of the Federal Gov- 
ernment, Avhat may reasonably be anticipated when the South 
returns to its normal condition of prosperity and affluence, when 
its merchants and planters may be found congregating as of old to 
the marts at the head of the Chesapeake Bay, and when through 
the opening and successful operation of the Baltimore, Pittsburg 



26 BALTIMORE — ITS ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION FOR 

and Chicago Railroad, Baltimore can for the first time demand 
without let or hindrance, and by an independent line entirely 
under its own control, a fair and impartial representation in the 
produce markets of Chicago and the North-west. Special allusion 
is made to this point, because in all appearances an entire revolu- 
tion will be produced in the carrying trade between the North- 
west and the Atlantic seaboard by the completion of the new line 
to Chicago. Its cost will not be one-half that of other roads with 
which it comes into competition and a lower rate of freight coinci- 
dent Avith a reduced cost of construction must be the means of 
diverting to Baltimore much traffic which has hitherto been di- 
rectly tributary to New York, Philadelphia or Boston. Another 
commercial advantage of Baltimore in connection with its Euro- 
pean line of steamers is the cheapness of fuel. The coal from the 
Cumberland basin is pronounced superior for steaming purposes, 
to any except the South Wales coal, and of that only one seam is 
we are creditably informed, superior. The supply of coal in 
England is found to be annually diminishing, and its prices are 
effected by exceptional causes, more especially by the eccentricities 
of miner's unions, &c,, hence it is almost regarded as certain, that 
within a few years if not sooner, America will furnish for the 
European steamers, the West Indies and South America much of 
the fuel which has heretofore been derived from trans-Atlantic 
ports. In this however we may have formed premature conclusions 
and would only state the simple fact that if a steamer sailing from 
Baltimore to Europe uses 800 tons of coal on the voyage, her 
managers will save by coaling at that point as compared with 
New York or Philadelphia, $24,000 or ^4800 per annum. In 
these days of exaggerated and abnormal competition for ocean 
freights, and when all the steamship lines formerly embraced in 
what was known as the North-Atlantic conference are claiming 
that their expenses are very largely in excess of receipts, this item 
of cheap and reliable fuel is one that cannot be disregarded, it is 
one which must eventually influence other steamship lines to make 
Baltimore their permanent port. Much more might be written 
on this point and it might be shown, how the commerce between 
the United States and South America could with proper manage- 
ment be almost entirely concentrated at Baltimore, in fact a large 



COMMERCIAL AJSTD MANUFACTUEIXG PURPOSES. 27 

proportion of tho coffee shipments from Brazil for the West now 
pass through Baltimore, and the traffic originating in the valley 
of the Amazon, in Bolivia, the Argentine Eepublic and the United 
'States of Columbia must find its readiest and economical market 
there ; but enough arguments have been adduced to convince oven 
the most skepti»*al that the seaport situated at the head of the 
Chesapeake, the boldest indentation on the Atlantic, with advan- 
tages of distances, lower port charges and more economical transpor- 
tation facilities must attract the attention and intelligent action, 
which its location demands. Years may elapse before all that the 
anticipations formed as to the commercial future of Baltimore are 
fully realized, but farmers, merchants, manufacturers, laborers 
and mechanics are now studying economy, they are anxiously 
looking over the net results, and as a consequence they will aban- 
don ports where the cost of handling and transferring freight are 
simply extravagant and exorbitant and they will avail themselves 
of advantages and commercial facilities which cannot fail to add 
to their financial permanence and stability. 

The city of Baltimore is also admirably situated for manufactur- 
ing purposes, and here it may be stated that manufactures flourish 
in a locality where there are cheap fuel, abundance of water, cheap 
rents and a cheap market for all the necessaries — not the luxuries 
of life. It is a well known fact that the water power on which the 
manufacturers of the Eastern States heretofore relied, has, during 
the past decade, failed to a very great extent, hence they have been 
compelled in the majority of instances to use steam as a reliable 
motor, and the necessary fuel has been procured at considerable 
expense from Philadelphia, Baltimore and I^ew York. The prices 
of coal procured from Philadelphia and New York have constantly 
fluctuated, hence manufacturers have always had an uncertain basis 
to work on, the value of their productions was always contingent, 
and the actual profit of their business could only be roughly esti- 
mated in advance. The disadvantages of such a condition of 
affairs, will be readily appreciated by those who are conversant 
with the competition of manufacturers, and with the small margin 
on which they operate. A rise of ^1.00 or 75 cts. per ton in the 
price of fuel, seriously interferes with small profits ; and hence it 
is not extraordinary that young and enterprising capitalists from 



28 BALTIMORE — ITS ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION FOR 

all sections of the country have selected Baltimore and its suburbs 
as a profitable place for investments, and have been attracted 
thither by the allurements of cheap rent and cheap fuel. The 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company with their usual sagacity 
recognized this fact, and the annually increasing consumption of 
eoal, indicates that their efforts in the direction of a low and uni- 
form rate on coal transportation have been successful, and that 
their consistent policy to advance the prosperity of Baltimore, has 
not been unrewarded. The following remarks are found in the 
annual report for fiscal year ending Sept. 30th, 1872. "The 
establishment and maintenance of low and uniform rates, enabling 
consumers to rely upon their supplies being furnished throughout 
the year at prices which will not be affected by changes in the 
charge for transportation continue to cause a general and large 
demand. The tariff of the Baltimore and Ohio Road for coal, has 
continued summer and winter without alteration, for nearly five 
years. The company has uniformly declined to enter into any 
combinations to obtain advanced rates, and proposes to continue 
this liberal and useful policy.'' It would not be surprising if Bal- 
timore were to become within a few years, the chief manufacturing 
point for all the cotton produced on the Atlantic seaboard, and 
that through economy of operating, she was able to compete suc- 
cessfully, if not outrival these older established New England 
cities, with which the manufacture of domestics has hitherto been 
a specialty. Cheap rents also enter conjointly with cheap fuel into 
the calculations of the manufacturer and the operative; and here 
from her geographical location and the large extent of country 
embraced within her limits, Baltimore can hold out advantages 
superior to those of any other large city. The manufacturer, the 
mechanic, and the artizan, can each procure the location which they 
want, at a very moderate ground rent, extending over a long term 
of years; and as a natural result the city is populated by a thrifty, 
industrious laboring class, while its manufactories assume a charac- 
ter of stability and pernaancnce which are rarely found wherever 
the ground on which the buildings are erected is not owned in fee 
simple. The report of the Canton Company for year ending 
March 31st, 1874, substantiates very clearly the statements made 
on this point, indicating that even at that distance from the heart 



COMMERCIAL AND MAXUFACTUKING PURPOSES. 



29 



of the city, and in a time when all manufacturing industries were 
suffering from a depression incident to the panic of October, 1873, 
they lease'.l on ground rents, and mostly in small lots, property 
whose ground rent if capitalised, would be equal to more than 
$320,000. Reference to the map accompanying this pamphlet, 
and to whicli the reader is referred as shewing accurately all the 
country within a radius of fifteen miles from the city of Baltimore, 
will prove that there is abundant water supply for all the manu- 
factories which now exist or which hereafter may be erected in the 
city proper or in its vicinity. A cheap market was also assumed 
to be one of the attractions for a manufacturing population, and in 
this respect, Baltimore is candidly admitted to be superior to either 
Kew York or Philadelphia. Allusion is made here to the neces- 
saries, not the luxuries of life. The following list of market rates 
as prevalent in the three cities above mentioned is herewith ap- 
pended, as indicating very clearly the correctness of this position : 



List of Market Eates at New York, Philadelphia 
AND Baltimore. 



Character of Article. 



Porter House Steaks 

fSirloin Steaks 

Round Steaks 

Rib Koast of Beef.... 

Corned Beef 

Roast Veal 

Veal Cutlets 

Roast Mutton 

Mutton Chops 

Roast Pork 

Pork Steaks 

Corned Pork 

Breakfast Bacon 

Butter 

Eggs 

Chickens 

Potatoes 

Sweet Potatoes 

Onions 

Pumpkins 

Turnips 

Tomatoes 

Cauliflowers - 

Apples = 

Grrapes 

Halibut 

J/ard 

Flour 



At New York. 
October 17th, 1874. 



35 cts. per lb. 

20 to 28 cts. per lb. 

22 cts. per lb. 

2(j cts. per lb. 

12 to Hi cts. per lb. 

20 to 22 cts. per lb. 

35 cts. per lb. 

18 to 20 cts. per lb. 

25 cts. per lb. 

14 cts. per lb. 

11 cts. per Dj. 

11 cts. per lb. 

10 cts. per lb. 

38 to 50 cts. per lb. 

373-^ CIS. per dozpn. 

20 to 20 cts. per lb. 

50 cts. per peck. 

80 CIS. per peck. 

80 Cts. per peck. 

40 to CO Cts. ea(!h. 

,50 cts. per peek. 

40 cts. per peck. 

35 to 45 cts. per head 

50 cts. per peek. 

5 to 10 cts. per lb. 

18 to 20 cts. per lb. 

17 cts. per lb. 

§b to $0.75 per bbl. 



At Philadelphia. 
October 17th, 1874. 



25 to 30 cts. per I b. 
25 tfO 30 cts. per lb. 
20 CIS. per lb. 
20 to 25 cts. per lb. 
18 cts. per lb. 
16 cts. per lb. 
20 to 25 cts. per lb. 
IC to 18 cts. per lb, 
10 to 20 ct.s. per lb. 
15 to 10 cts. per lb. 

15 to 10 cts. per lb. 
10 cts. per lb. 

IG cts. per lb. 
40 to GO cts. per ;*o. 
30 cts. per doz, 
18 to 20 eta. per lb. 
Sl.40 per bushel. 
81.50 per bushel. 
60 cts. per peck. 
40 to CO cts. each. 
75 cts. per bushel. 
75 cts. 2 peck bask't. 
30 to 40 cts. per head 
60 cts. per peck. 
5 to 10 cts. per lb. 

16 cts. per lb. 

12 to 10 cts. per lb. 
§C to $7 per bbl. 



At Baltimore. 
October 15th, 1874. 



25 cts. per lb. 
20 cts. per lb. 
10 cts. per lb. 
18 to 20 cts. pcrRi. 
10 to 12ct.«. perlb. 
15 cts. per lb. 
20 cts. per lb. 
15 cts. per lb. 
15 to 18 cts. per lb. 
15 cts. per lb. 
15 cts. per lb. 

15 cts. per lb. 

16 cts. per lb. 

30 to 35 cts. per lb. 
28 to 30 cts. per doz. 
$3 to So per ctoz. 
30 to 40 Cts. per peck 
40 Cts, per peek. 
50 cts. to $1 per peck. 
20 to 30 cts. each. 
40 cts. per peck. 
30 cts. per peck. 
25 to 40 cts. per head 
25 to 40 cts. per peck. 
5 to 10 cts. per lb. 
20 cts. per lb. 
10 els. per lb. 
H to $0 per bbl. 



30 



BALTIMORE — ITS ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION FOR 



Some idea of the manufactures of Maryland and their varied 
character may be formed from the following Table of Statistics, 
compiled from the U. S. Census Eeturns of 1870, which show 
that out of products amounting in the aggregate to $76,593,613, 

),219,933 were credited to Baltimore County and City : 



Character of Manufacture. 



-^ . 




tZ 05 




wi 




^-E 


O 


o5 


CI. 


C-- 


g 


^ 


W 


1 


35 


34 


20> 


3 


14 


2 


8 


6 


UG 


3 


25 


'A 


3 


1 


12 


4 


16 


1 


2 


1 


3 


Gl!) 


1,329 


lo 


33 


10 


12i 


3 


40 


812 


3,228 


4 


28 


28 


309 


5 


13G 


159 


488 


73 


2,05 L 


11 


218 


4 


31 


21 


77 


191 


8:^0 - 


20 


50 


3 


48 


133 


681 


2 


76 


3 


75 


5 


G3 


3 


6 


323 


7,453 


8 


55 


4 


29 


30 


66 


[■i-> 


279 


88 


?45 


1 


127 


I 


7 


7 


30 


7 


46 


2 


Ifi 


1 


2 


1 


3 


22 


2,800 


1 


14 


5 


8 


G 


11 


4 


64 


1 


75 


7 


35 


1 


5 


15 


126 


3 


8 


518 


1,101 


19 


1,985 


137 


1,134 



o 



Acid — Sulphuric 

Agricultural Implements 

Awnings and IVnts 

Babbitt — metal and solder 

Bags — paper and others 

Banners, Flags, &c 

Bark— ground 

Baskets 

Belting and Hose, (leather,)....,. 

Billiard Tables, &c , 

Bliicking 

Blacksmi thing 

Blea<thing and Dyeing 

Book-Binding 

Boot and Shoe Findings 

Boots and Shoes , 

Botiling 

Boxes of all sorts 

Brass Pounding, *c 

Bread, Crackers, &c ■ 

Brick 

Brooms and Wisps 

Brushes 

Butchering 

Carpentering and Building 

Carpets 

Carriage Trimmings 

Carriages and Wagons 

Cement 

Charcoal ,... 

Chromoaand Lithographs 

Cider 

Clothing. 

Coal Oil — rectified 

Coffee and Spices , 

Coffins 

Confectionery 

Cooperage 

Copper — milled and smelted 

" ~ rolled 

Coppersmithing , 

Cordage and Twine 

Cordials and Syrups 

Cosmetics 

Costumes 

Cotton Goods 

Curled Hair 

Cutlery— edged tools 

Dentistry — Mechanical 

Drugs and Chemicals 

Dye Woods, &c. — ground 

Engraving and Stencils 

Explosives and Fireworks 

Fertilizers 

Files 

Flouring and GriPt Mills 

Fruits and Vegetables — canned 
Furniture and Chairs 



$ 50,000 

281,300 

5,400 

75300 

109,51 '0 

i:9,500 

14,100 

700 

28,500 

1,500 

1,000 

245,876 

4,250 

41,3£0 

2.900 

767,105 

9,000 

84,500 

58,01 iO 

374,195 

1,063,300 

70 575 

11,500 

39,020 

269,490 

22,950 

21,500 

297,650 

32,000 

74,000 

69,050 

1.150 

2,284,825 

198,000 

139,600 

23,3.50 

249,585 

290,454 

800,000 

40,000 

11,700 

22,1.50 

29.000 

300 

4,000 

2,734,250 

13,912 

1 800 

0,110 

178,500 

150,000 

22,375 

12.000 

438,800 

1,150 

2,790,700 

603 800 

847.970 



$ 21.500 

117,311 

4,?.00 

2,.500 

31,950 

10,380 

400 

2,000 

7,700 

720 

7iiO 

171,157 

8,918 

38,994 

5,760 

920,145 

10.720 

78,226 

61 ,.5.59 

124,168 

688,283 

3.5,836 

8,.30O 

17,785 

275,947 

10,230 

1 1 ,000 

227,170 

26,000 

30,500 

31,100 

678 

1,1.3.5,426 

23,120 

16,123 

10,708 

73,450 

275.217 

96,500 

3000 

9,750 

8,331 

6,300 

350 

4.50 

671,933 

3,222 

700 

3,520 

21,075 

.33,105 

13,275 

1,200 

44,827 

1,924 

178,733 

203,419 

4.50.824 



% 19,880 


$ 58,350 


276,257 


549.085 


23,900 


37.200 


50,800 


57,690 


441,260 


683,275 


24,600 


42,500 


3,850 


5,200 


937 


4,.50O 


19,000 


38,.512 


4,.50O 


7.260 


1,720 


9,000 


237,683 


782,165 


6,490 


32,090 


30,470 


89,374 


13,672 


28.'200 


1,341,163 


3,111.076 


21,500 


44,100 


193,108 


358,359 


8>,676 


255,435 


765914 


1,220.399 


256.963 


1,191,515 


18.5,7.«4 


277,938 


1.5,513 


29,000 


108,943 


164,405 


1,025 667 


1,699,50-2 


26,755 


40,507 


16,000 


40,000 


219,132 


067,157 


47,700 


79,500 


19,300 


75,480 


22.400 


78,000 


2,000 


4,100 


3,785,993 


5,970 713 


546,171 


647,389 


312,570 


360,535 


21,825 


6t,09i) 


475,704 


733,431 


415.037 


873,782 


1,098,655 


1,016.500 


6,000 


10,000 


20,701 


52,()25 


24,802 


44,645 


15,.574 


27.99(5 


450 


1,700 


1,000 


1 ,500 


3,409,426 


4,852,8 8 


13,086 


24,392 


245 


3,550 


3,720 


13.40 1 


60,520 


137,851 


104,386 


187,400 


7,080 


33,600 


3,600 


7,000 


522,886 


G32 352 


500 


6,000 


5,828,471 


6,780,4.59 


1,028,818 


1,.587,230 


.572,778 


1.309,488 



COMMEECIAL AND MAXUFACTURIKG PDEPOSES. 



31 



TABLE OF STATISTICS— Continued. 



Chaeactze of JIaxufactuee. 



Fwrs — dressed . 
Gas. 



Gilding 

Glass — cut, stained and window 

Gloves and Wittens 

Glue 

Gold Leaf and Foil 

Grease and Tallow _ 

Gunsmithing 

Hair Work 

Hardware 

Hats and Caps 

Heatins; Apparatus 

Hoop Skirts and Corsets 

Hosiery 

Hubs, Spokes, Felloes, Shafts, Ac... 

Husks — prepared 

Instruments — Profes'l & Scientific 
Iron — forged and rolled 

" Bolts, Nuts, Washers 

" Eailing, wrought 

" pigs • 

" ca-!tings, not speeined 

" Stoves, Heaters, Hollow ware 

Japanned Ware 

Jewelry 

Kaolia'and ground earth 

Kindling Wood 

Lasts 

J^ead — Shot 

Leather — tanned 

" curried 

" Morocco, tanned, 4c.» 

" dressed skins 

Lightning Rods 

Lime 

Liquors — distilled 

" malt 

Locksmith ing,&c 

Looking GlassandPicture Frames. 
Lumber — planed 

" sawed 

Machinery, (not specified.) 

" Steam Engines, Ac 

Malt 

Marble and Stone Work, general 

" Monument3& Tombstones.. 

Masonry — brick andetone 

Matches 

Meat^ — Pork, packed 

Meters — Gas 

Milliner}' 

Millstones 

Millwri^htine 

Mineraland Soda Waters 

Molasses and Syrup, (principally 

Sorghums ) 

Molasses Sugar — refined 

Musical Instruments and Materials 

(not snecified.) 

^ets— Fish and Seine 

Oars 



36 

427 

4 

145 

68 

1 

12 

6 

19 

19 

31 

5-1 

48 

32 

3 

17 

2 

37 

1,444 

16 

19 

859 

C32 

G3 

7 

46 

3 

15 

2 

12 

2SI 

163 

84 

19 

3 

150 

G3 

208 

47 

108 

151 

1,24.5 

34.3 

341 

f.4 

]35 

274 

1(17 

105 



8 68,500 

1.820,000 

300 

145,700 

6,4.^0 

500 

3,200 

17;o00 

5,250 

11,100 

8,000 

16,000 

125,000 

6,600 

100 

6,100 

9,450 

32.800 

983,000 

28,W0 

4,500 

2,005.000 

736,635 

47,500 

900 

52,950 

5. 1 '00 

15,500 

400 

42,000 

792,430 

238,145 

64.000 

25,550 

1,075 

106.150 

220.700 

683,500 

7.8 

48.300 

241.800 

1,0.55.600 

372.700 

435,666 

145.666 

148:227 

228.250 

11,960 

20,000 

125 000 

50,000 

18.275 

23.4f0 

1,400 

23,300 

3,!>no 
958,000 

594,000 

100 
3,800 



^ 



i 8,470 

276,294 

1,184 

109,600 

2,750 

425 

3,964 

2,350 

7,216 

3,700 

12,437 

13,082 

30,063 

5,350 



3,700 

730 

12,600 

709,922 

5.500 

4,700 

255,941 

189,305 

26,.500 

1.350 

25,082 

900 

5,950 



2,550 

94,180 

53.131 

39 200 

9,400 

375 

48,505 

30.228 

103^644 

12.750 

38,470 

62,068 

259,551 

17-5,744 

174,-527 

20,7S0 

57.830 

126.467 

23,990 

16,000 

14.000 

11,000 

6,S54 

11,557 

2,200 

6,071 

1,895 
198,551 



'E 


o 

s 




-o 




o 


$ 31.630 


$ 65,500 


374.750 


1,027,165 


2,800 


5.300 


88,300 


246,400 


7,978 


15,300 




750 


12.980 


21,000 


44,210 


51,000 


2.300 


16,200 


11.700 


24,25'» 


9,786 


38.717 


29,502 


57,26(5 


83,000 


137,211 


23,800 


43,170 


780 


1,000 


7,750 


14,900 


2,210 


4.920 


5,420 


30.750 


1,309.315 


3,573,312 


40.800 


65,(KX> 


6,-3-25 


16,000 


1,286,881 


2,143,080 


416,648 


835.024 


36.722 


93,070 


1,900 


4.200 


36,500 


82,70(> 


5.000 


e.orwi 


16,315 


28,500 


250 


2.100 


69,715 


62 Soi 


926,406 


1^65,388 


494,075 


623,308 


74,880 


163,000 


21.500 


Zd,00(f 


1,280 


6,000 


90,499 


234,199 


381.236 


889,261 


510.492 


665.74:} 


8,224 


33,700 


58.310 


133,750 


320.632 


474.857 


674.858 


1,501,471 


323.646 


681 391 


182,730 


373,475 


298,428 


3;}9,500 


73,451 


168,999 


143.896 


375.597 


91,868 


151,410 


34.000 


110,000 


626.2CI0 


695.000 


15,000 


45,000 


27,455 


6t,719 


14.701 


35.530 


5.4.50 


10.7.->0 


8,178 


34,380 


4.050 


8.230 


6,394,569 


7,007,857 


316,570 


674.600 


750 


2.0 i) 


9.620 


16.130 



32 



BALTIMOEE — ITS ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION FOR 



TABLE OF STATISTICS— Co7itinued. 



Ceakacteb 01' Mandfacture. 



Oils — Vegetable, (not specified,) 

Oysters and Fish— canned 

Painting 

Paints— (not specified,) 

" lead and zinc 

Paper — (not specified,) 

" Printing 

" ■ Wrapping 

Paperhanging 

Patent Medicines and Compounds.. 

Patterns and Models 

Pencils and Pens— Gold 

Photographs 

Pipes— Tobacco 

Plaster — ground 

Plastering 

Plated Ware 

Plumbing and Gasfitting 

Pocket Books 

Printing and Publishing— (not spe- 
cified,) 

Printing and Publishing— Job 

Pumps 

Roofing Materials 

Saddlery and Harness 

Safes, Doors and Vaults— Fire-Proof. 

Sails 

Sash, Doors and Blinds 

Saws 

Scales and Balances 

Sewing Machines 

Ship Building, Bepairing and Ship 

Materials 

Showcases 

Silver Ware...., 

Small Beer 

Soap and Candles 

Soapstone Goods 

Stereotyping and Electrotyping 

Stone and Earthen Ware 

Sumac — ground, 

Tin, Copper and Sheet Iron Ware... 

Tobacco and Cigars 

"- Chewing, Smoking and 

Snuffing 

Tobacco— Cigars 

Toys 

'I'runks, Valises and Satchels 

Trusses, Bandages and Supporters. 

Type Founding 

Umbrellas and Canes 

Upholstery 

Vinegar 

Watch and Clock Repairing 

Wheelwrighting 

Whips and Canes 

V illow Ware and Rustic Ornam'ts.. 

Wire Work 

Wood Brackets.Mouldings &Scrolls 

" turned and carved 

"Wool-Carding and Cloth-Dressing... 
Woolen Goods 



2 
61) 

3 

2 
12 
12 

(i 
14 

2 

1 
28 

2 

12 
4 

27 
4 

40 
27 
10 

2 
135 

1 

7 
17 

3 



31 
2 
4 
1 

13 
1 
1 

21 

1 

183 



13 

269 

1 

13 
3 
1 
5 

13 
4 

40 

257 

3 

10 
G 
4 
(i 
4 

28 



43 

1,531 

181 

41 

C9 

9 

206 

C3 

36 

97 

6 

2 

95 

24 

12 

45 

26 

163 

7 

665 

2.':0 
51 
23 

420 
13 
37 

262 

14 

8 

12 

313 
10 
43 

6 

99 

24 

10 

109 

8 

950 

7 

340 
1,034 
11 
76 
5 
16 
10 
68 
13 
86 

522 
40 
99 

122 

127 
76 
19 

309 



$ 145 000 

553,300 

23,450 

65,000 

375,000 

5,500 

1,121,800 

78,700 

48,500 

201,350 

900 

500 

83,825 

2,100 

13,950 

9,380 

20,800 

113,700 

1,500 

826,800 

181,350 
24,125 
65,000 

207,385 
20,000 
15,000 

282,425 
4,000 
22,000 
1,405 

172,600 

4 500 

82,300 

10,000 

230,050 

100,000 

6,000 

105,690 

15,000 

663,500 

4,500 

496,400 

409,100 

5,000 

45,250 

1,450 

25,000 

4,000 

100,650 

21,200 

32,775 

115,735 

14,000 

9,350 

28,200 

169,000 

20,000 

6,500 

198,945 



i 18,900 

256,719 

57,314 

20,000 

44,500 

4,000 
86,110 
20,413 
12.984 
27,333 

1,900 

150 

27,711 

9,080 

1,973 
15,528 

9,015 
66,006 

1,000 

404,305 

101,947 

11,602 

14,000 

109,800 

9,000 

12,153 

149,014 

3,116 

3,250 

4,500 

116,836 

3,736 
32,400 

3,000 
38,392 
11,000 

3,200 
57,401 

4,100 
318,742 

3,230 

82,040 
304,502 

1,200 

27,228 

100 

7,500 

1,820 
23,515 

3,072 
22,781 
69,809 
13,000 
10,050 
20,120 
77,411 
34,170 

2,280 
79,739 



$371,400 

922,402 

70,004 

300 000 

405,148 

16,725 

445,498 

43,208 

41,838 

131,850 

360 

600 

25,770 

2,774 

11,788 

20,060 

10,700 

232,806 

1,400 

334,550 

165,048 

19 39 1 

44 237 

267,007 

6,000 

48 821 

214,284 

4,u92 

30 .535 

1,350 

120,723 

10,800 

25 940 

000 

315 972 

10.075 

6.747 

32,871 

15.2;"0 

901,901 

2,505 

251,911 

409,803 

2,000 

65,084 

1,013 

1,780 

3,000 

71,395 

73,810 

8,487 

00.151 

28,200 

2(') 058 

57,500 

50,500 

5,700 

20,100 

214,309 



i 478.125 

1,418,200 

191.435 

3S7..50I)- 

640,000 

32,910 

823.000 

92,800 

65,784 

282,250 

3,950 

1,500 

125,981 

18,900 

18,300 

50,450 

28.500 

408,107 

4.400 



1,179, 

391. 

47, 

80, 

639 

35 

76 

419 

12 

68 

7 



928 
,621 
,803 
,853 
,033 
,000 
,827 
,500 
,000 
000 
300 



357,404 
18,300 
68,000 
14,000 

521,4:i9 
20.150 
10,000 

143,114 

20,400 

1,634 009 

9,503 

653,700 

1,108,988 

5,000 

114,100 
5,2.50 
12,000 
10,701) 

139,401) 
89,001) 
66,48.-1 

311,.5.Sl 
55,1011 
48,4.")ll 

113.100 

154,580 
75,882 
38,:uo 

390,036 



COMMERCIAL AND MANUFACTURING PURPOSES. 33 

From, the statistics above given, and which are the latest offi- 
cially published, it will be readily seen that Baltimore does not 
possess one, but many sources of manufacture ; prominent among 
these may be noted : 

(/.) The Oyster, Fruit and Vegetable packing, in -which are em- 
ployed more than 25,000 people distributed among one hundred 
or more establishments. As an indication of the magnitude of 
this traffic it may be noted that during the season, 50,000 cans of 
raw oysters are put up daily by a single house, and 30,000 cans of 
cooked oysters by another. During the time when oysters are not 
in season, the hands are employed in canning fruit and vegetables 
to be shipped to Europe and the western markets. Large lime 
kilns are in many instances owned by the packing establishments, 
and it is stated that one firm alone burns 20,000 bushels into lime 
every four days ; also, that the manufacture of 600,000 bushels of 
lime in a year, does not dispose of the accumulations, and the re- 
moval of a large quantity has to be paid for annually. 

(^.) Whiskey. The Maryland whiskey generally, and more 
especially that produced in the city of Baltimore and its vicinity, 
has, for years past, gained an enviable reputation and is in exten- 
sive demand throughout the South, also in the Eastern and New 
England states. This whiskey is made out of pure rye, and the 
capital invested in its manufacture amounts to $3,000,000 ; but the 
profits resulting from the business are large, and a considerable 
increase of trade may be reasonably anticipated in the future. 

(3.) Grain. Baltimore has always been from the first years of 
its existence as a town, the grain market of this section, and du- 
ring the Peninsular war large quantities were annually shipped to 
Spain and other European ports. Great care has always been 
taken in the manufacture of flour at this point, and it has always 
commanded a high price in the West Indian and other tropical 
markets. An unusual stimulus has been given to the grain and 
flour trade since the close of the civil war, by the construction of 
elevators and by economical transportation to Europe. These 
facilities will, in all probability, be further increased as the North- 
west appreciates more fully the advantages of Baltimore as a ship- 
ping point. It may be noted that a very rigid inspection of all 
grain and corn shipped from Baltimore is practised under the 
3 



34 BALTIMORE — ITS ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION FOE 

auspices of the Corn and Flour Exchange, hence cargoes shipped 
from this port maintain a deservedly high reputation. The census 
returns for 1870, which have doubtless been subsequently increased 
about 25 per cent., indicate that in the State of Maryland there 
were at that time 518 flouring and grist mills, cmployiug 1,101 
hands, with a capital invested of $2,790,700 and with products 
amounting in the aggregate to $6,786,459. 

(4-) Shoe and Leather Trade. The manufacture and sale of 
shoes and leather in Baltimore is very large, amounting in some 
years to more than $18,000,000. The traflic in these articles was 
formerly confined to New England and Philadelphia, but during 
late years the trade of Baltimore with the South in these articles 
has increased beyond all expectations ; and from present appear- 
ances the shoe trade must become one of its leading industries. 

(-5.) Cotton. The census returns for 1870 show that cotton 
manufactures are rapidly becoming a specialty in Baltimore. The 
greater portion of the cotton now brought to this port is produced 
in North and South Carolina, but the goods manufactured out of 
cotton, although amounting in value to nearly $5,000,000, form 
but a small proportion of the aggregate cotton shipments, which 
are increasing annually from all sections of the country in conse- 
quence of the increased facilities for railroad transportation and the 
advantages offered to brokers, by the establishment of the " Balti- 
more Cotton Warehouse Company." There is apparently no rea- 
son why Baltimore should not become one of the leading cotton 
markets of the world ; and it is certain that cheap rents and cheap 
fuel will eventually attract much New England capital ; in fact, 
Baltimore must become a strong and in all probability successful 
rival of Fall River, Lowell and other well-known New England 
manufacturing centres. At present the cotton mills of Baltimore 
are more particularly interested in the manufacture of " Cotton 

Duck." 

[6.) Iron. The importance of this trade cannot be ignored, and 
it ranks high among the specialties of Baltimore. There are 
rolling mills, furnaces, etc., in which nearly one million and a half 
dollars have been invested, and the products of which, according . 
to the last census returns, amounted to nearly $3,000,000. A 
large increase in this business however, has taken place within the 



COMMERCIAL, AXD MAXUFACTUEING PFEPOSES. 35 

past three jears ; aud the facilities for procuring iron ore, cheap 
fuel and an abundant water supply are evidently appreciated. It 
may be noted in this connection, that rails or plates* manufactured 
by the Abbott Iron Company have a national reputation, and 
the further development of similar first class industries will 
be co-incident with the gradual extension and growth of the 
city. In connection with this subject of iron manufacture it may 
bo appropriately noted that the construction of iron bridges is 
carried on extensively in Baltimore by the " Baltimore Bridge 
Company/' and by the "Patapsco Bridge and Iron Works." The 
last named company has executed considerable work in Cuba and 
Mexico, also in North Carolina at Wilmington; while the former has 
attained a world-wide reputation by the construction of the Rock 
Island Bridge across the Mississippi ; of the St. Charles Bridge 
across the Missouri River, on the line of the St. Louis, Kansas 
City and Northern Railroad, and of the Varrugas Viaduct for the 
Lima and Oroya Railroad in Peru, 252 feet high. The superior 
quality of the iron manufactured in Baltimore, gives these com- 
panies unusual facilities for executing large contracts, and a large 
force of laborers is constantly employed. 

[7.) Petroleum. The trade in this article at Baltimore, and the 
establishment of refineries, is increasing rapidly, but not in a ratio 
corresponding to the facilities which can be furnished for its manu- 
facture and export. It is claimed that the Baltimore refineries 
could furnish oil cheaper than those of Philadelphia, did no dis- 
crimination exist against the first named city, in the transportation 
of the crude article from the Pennsylvania Oil Wells. The fol- 
lowing statistics indicate the growth of the business for two years: 

Eccdpls of Crude and Refined Oil. 1872. 1873. Increase. 

Per Northern Central Railway 93,397 bbls 180,590 bbls 87,193 

" Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 53.977 " 60,396 " 12,419 



Total 147,374 " 246,956 " 99,612 

The capacity of the refineries in Baltimore, is 475,000 barrels 
annually; and this capacity could be increased indefinitely, pro- 
vided that an independent line were constructed from Hagerstown, 
on the Western Maryland Railroad, to the coal oil regions of Penn- 
sylvania. During the year 1873^ twenty-nine cargoes cleared from 



36 BALTIMORE — ITS ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION FOE 

Baltimore for foreign ports, composed in the aggregate of 54,464 
barrels refined ; 11,951 barrels lubricating and 5,268 barrels nap- 
tha, making the total exports, 71,683 barrels, equal to 3,189,850 
gallons, which, with the crude oil added, make the aggregate of 
foreign shipments 3,470,955 gallons, against 1,972,258 gallons in 
1872. Within six years the trade in petroleum has increased 
more than 350 per cent., viz : from 988,236 gallons in 1869, to 
3,470,995 in 1873. Succeeding annual reports will in all proba- 
bility show a still further percentage of increase. 

{8.) Bricks. Although when the first brick house, contiguous 
to Baltimore, was built, the bricks were imported from England ; 
the inhabitants of the city soon discovered the value of the clay in 
its vicinity for manufacturing bricks of a very superior quality. 
Large sums of money amounting at this date to nearly $1,000,000, 
are invested in the business. More than 2,000 laborers are 
constantly employed, and 25,000 tons of coal, together with 
2,000 cords of wood are consumed in brick production. Among 
the different kinds of brick manufactured here, the Baltimore 
pressed brick stands preeminent, and its superiority is so thoroughly 
recognized that it is shipped extensively to all the seaport towns 
lying south of Baltimore, and also largely to New England and 
Boston. In the neighborhood of the city a superior fire brick 
clay is found, and also clay which is adapted for stoneware, pottery 
and terra cotta ware. The pottery branch of this trade requires 
further development and the introduction of additional capital; 
because there is no reason why the manufacture of such wares 
here should not surpass that of Trenton, and monopolise the trade 
of the South and West, provided that the necessary site for such 
establishments can be procured at a reasonable price, and in prox- 
imity to rail and water transportation. 

{9.) Furniture. This is another important industry of Balti- 
more, in which according to the latest returns accessible, more than 
two thousand hands are employed, while a capital of more than 
$1,500,000 is invested in the business. The annual sales now 
amount to $3,000,000, being nearly double of what they were 
when the census returns were taken in 1870. Black walnut is 
procured at a comparatively low rate from Indiana, while the 
forests of West Virginia furnish an inexhaustible supply of poplar, 



COMMERCIAL AND MANUFACTURIKG PURPOSES. 37 

and superior yellow pine can be obtained in large quantities via 
Chesapeake Bay, from the forests of lower Maryland, Virginia and 
North Carolina. This branch of manufacture is increasing so 
rapidly, that to all appearances Baltimore will become the furni- 
ture emporium, not merely for Maryland proper, but for the 
South and West, for South America and the West Indies. 

(10.) .Tobacco. Last but not least among the varied manufac- 
tures for which Baltimore stands preeminent, is that of Chewing 
Tobacco, Smoking Tobacco, Cigars and SnuiF. The brands manu- 
factured in Baltimore have a very extensive sale both here and in 
Europe, and a large number of skilled laborers are constantly 
employed in the various factories. The export trade in leaf 
tobacco is one of the prominent features of business in Baltimore, 
and has been so since the first foundation of the city. There is a 
very rigid inspection of tobacco grown in Maryland, and the 
knowledge of this fact attracts large orders from foreign manu- 
facturers to Baltimore. Heavy shipments are also made from 
Ohio, Virginia and Kentucky, through Baltimore. The Mary- 
land and Ohio tobacco exported during the year ending December 
31st, 1873, aggregated 51,652 hogsheads, of which 40,000 hogs- 
heads were for Bremen, Rotterdam and France. 

Allusion might be appproriately made here to the manufacture 
of pianos, tin and glass ware of all descriptions, fertilizers, chemi- 
cals and many other articles for home use and for export; but 
enough has been written to show that the city of Baltimore pos- 
sesses within herself all the resources for becoming a large manu- 
facturing centre: and when it is considered that these resources 
are supplemented by cheap fuel, cheap rents, economical transpor- 
tation and abundant labor, the reader will see that there is no 
reason why, by the attraction to itself of foreign capital for invest- 
ment in these varied industries, Baltimore should not become, as 
it is designed by nature, the great commercial and manufacturing 
centre for the West and South. 

The following statistics, relative to the imports for three years, 
ending December 31st, 1873, and the receipts of various articles 
by the Baltimore and Ohio and Northern Central Railroads during 
two years, will doubtless prove interesting and instructive : 



38 



BALTIMORE — ITS ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION FOR 



IMPORTS. 

Comparative Table of Imports and Receipts of Principal Arti- 
cles for Three Years, ending December 31st, 1873 : 



Ariicles. 



1873. 


1872. 


1871. 


380,449 


372,895 


560.995 


1,129 


1.250 


1,500 


110,578 


113,367 


110,637 


1,312,612 


1,175,907 


1,123,028 


8,330,449 


9,045 465 


5,735,921 


2,810917 


2,450,100 


4,076,017 


1,255 072 


1,959,061 


1,833,409 


100,519 


90,938 


88,95l> 


17.314 


15,690 


■ 26 202 


20.767 


24,715 


30,755 


10,857 


3,007 


12,885 


26,281 


21732 


28.162 


54 291 


50,529 


68,940 


45,734 


91,229 


64,052 


150,749 


175,000 


158,528 


9,507 


10,940 


32,000 


3,201 


5,418 


7,250 


49G02 


103,480 


108,970 




2,480 
25,000 


10.580 


,30718 


28,158 


31827 


30,000 


' 49 129 


127 282 


110.901 


126,61'J 


05,107 


79,188 


55 044 


17,228 


11,082 


11,397 


22 781 


25,618 


15,873 


280,140 


183,700 


223,960 


142,985 


248,693 


101,413 


17.979 


21,657 


22,852 


SO 340 


80,020 


79,.352 


19,243 


13,407 


13.225 


184.822 


190 511 


135.310 



Coffee — Rio, bags 

Cocoanut,<;, M 

Cotton, bales 

Flour, barrels 

Corn, bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Rye, bushels 

Mackerel, barrels 

Herring, barrel.s.... 

Guano, tons 

Lemons, boxes 

Oranges, boxes 

Raisins, boxes 

Hides, No 

Ii'on, bars 

Pig Iron, tons 

Railroad bars 

Is on, bundles 

Molasses, hogsheads 

Sugar, bags 

Sugar, hogsheads 

Sugar, boxes 

Rice, tierces 

Rice, bags 

Salt, sacks 

Salt, bushels 

Spirits Turpentine, barrels 

Rosin, barrels 

Tar, (fee, barrels 

'J'in Pl.ites, boxes 



BALTIMOEE AND OHIO KAILEOAD. 

Comparative Statement of the Leading Commodities Received 
from the "West by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and Deliv- 
ered to consignees at Baltimore for Eleven Months, ending No- 
vember 30th, for 1872 and 1873 : 



Cotton, bales 

Coal, tons 

Flour, barrels-... 
Wheat, bushels. 
Corn, bushels.... 

Oil, barrels 

Lumber, tons.... 
Provisions, tons 
Butter, tons 



2 970 


12,550 


1,452,540 


1,972,310 


655,108 


832,314 


263,800 


601.100 


4,107,043 


4,725,393 


53,977 


00.396 


18,398 


39,715 


27,870 


25,817 


430 


420 



COMMERCIAL AND MANUFACTUEING PURPOSES. 



39 



NORTHEKN CENTRAL RAILWAY. 
Receipts at Baltimore for the last Two Years Compared. 



Coal, tons 

General Merchandise, tons.. 

Flour, barrels 

Grain, bushels 

Live Stock, tons 

Lime and Plaster, bushels- 
Pig Iron and Iron Ore, tons- 
Lumber, leet 

Coal Oil, barrels 

Butter, tons 

Lard, &o., tons 

Provisions, tons 



1373. 



212,95i 


244,775 


140,043 


136,611 


?,l)7,798 


279,534 


2,282,122 


1,577,794 


14,149 


12,915 


307,976 


407,201 


28,035 


27,612 


30,153,703 


23,855,458 


135,595 


93,397 


1.30G 


1,560 


3,801 


1.503 


24,014 


20,622 



The whole being equivalent to 645,575 net tons, as against 599,304 tons in the year 1872, an 
increase of 40,271 tons, and compared with 1S71, an increase of 122,714 tons. 



These figures speak volumes, as indicating that Baltimore is 
always able to furnish, for vessels importing, a return freight of 
the productions of this country. As long as the receipts of home 
products, for shipment and for manufacture into articles of export, 
continue to increase in the ratio above given, there is no fear of 
commerce declining or manufacturing being transferred to other 
cities. 



40 SITUATION OF HARBOE. 



(III.) SITUATION OF HAEBOR. 



The harbor or basin proper of the city of Baltimore is situated 
on what is known as the north west branch of Patapsco River, 
and when the town, as it was then termed was first founded, and 
for more than fifty years afterwards, the water reached up to Ex- 
change Place and Water street on the north and nearly to Charles 
street on the west, in fact the basin and dock at the present date 
do not occupy more than half the space, which was occupied by 
water in 1783. At that early stage however of the city's history, 
the deposits from what is known as Jones' Falls filled up the har- 
bor or basin to some extent, and an impost of one penny and 
afterwards of two pence a ton was levied on all vessels, entering 
or clearing with the view of providing a fund for maintaining a 
proper navigable depth of water. Nearly ninety-four years have 
elapsed and still the basin as it is termed, although somewhat ex- 
tensively curtailed of its pristine proportions remains in the same 
location, the inhabitants of Baltimore, adhere to it affectionately 
as an old friendly landmark, despite the noxious and mephitic 
vapors endangering the health of the city which rise periodically 
from its semi-stagnant pool, whenever some sailing craft or tug 
boat more adventurous or more deeply laden than its competitors 
stirs up the augean deposit. Dredging machines are kept con- 
tinually at work, and the city is put to a heavy expense year by 
year to keep the basin and its docks and slips clear, but the sedi- 
mentary deposit is still increasing and the question arises, whether 
it would not be much better to fill up the present basin clear across 
from Fell's Point due west, and for the city authorities, after having 
thus reclaimed property which would be highly valuable for ware- 
house and storage purposes, to devote their attention to keeping 
the anchorage at Locust Point and its vicinity of sufficient depth 
for large vessels. It is well known that the sedimentary deposits 
of a stream like Jones' Falls, or discharge from sewers when coming 



SITUATION OF HAEBOE. 41 

into contact with tide water are immediately precipitated and if 
this rule holds good in instances where a basin or harbor has a 
current able to clear out the settled matter how much more does 
the rule hold good in the case of a basin like that of Baltimore 
city where there is little if any current and where the mean rise 
and fall of the tide does not in any case exceed two feet. A Balti- 
more newspaper, "the Gazette of September 22d, 1874," alludes 
in very strong terms and pointed language to the present condi- 
tion of the harbor, and says : " Even while we were celebrating so 
jubilantly the completion of our ship channel, a ship drawing but 
nineteen feet six inches of water was lying within biscuit toss of the 
great elevator of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad hard and fast 
aground. A few days later two ships laden with guano were also 
hard and fast aground parallel with the elevator. They were only 
gotten off after a detention of several days. Similar instances have 
occurred with other vessels which are fresh in the memory of our 
merchants. Forty years ago vessels drawing twenty feet of water 
found no difficulty in coming up to O'DonnelFs, Gibson's, Belt's, 
Corner's or Tenant's wharves or to Locust Point. There was 
then eighteen feet of water at the mouth of the Falls and from 
fifteen to eighteen feet from the Falls to the head of the Basin. 
At present at the wharves above mentioned there is scarcely six- 
teen feet of water, and at Locust Point except where dredging has 
been recently done not much over twelve feet. At the mouth of 
the Falls there is not much more than nine feet whilst commencing 
nearly opposite the mouth there is a bar which runs in an easterly 
direction nearly to Locust Point, which has been caused by the 
sediment flowing from the Falls to the harbor. The water on 
this bar is but from five to ten feet deep at mid tide, leaving but a 
narrow channel for vessels to pass to and from the inner harbor or 
what is termed the Basin. At the coal wharves at Locust Point 
it has been found necessary to dredge channels in order to get the 
coal vessels out, the draft of these vessels ranging generally from 
ten to eighteen feet, very few, however, drawing eighteen feet of 
water." These facts as given in a Baltimore paper arc quoted 
with the view of demonstrating that the city of Baltimore in batt- 
ling to retain its hold upon European and internal commerce has 
certain natural difficulties to contend with and overcome at a great 



42 SITUATION OF HAEBOR. 

cost ; i. e., if it is its desire to adhere to old land-marks and not 
adopt a course which common prudence and adherence to the 
ordinary rules of hygiene would dictate. 

Years ago when sailing vessels were in vogue, objections might 
have been urged against the distance from the port to the open 
sea; and it may be presumed, that beating up Chesapeake Bay for 
nearly 200 miles in the face of head winds, was not at that date a 
very pleasant experience ; but steam, and its general introduction 
on all large sea-going vessels, have entirely obviated these diffi- 
culties, and the question of short inland communication is tlie 
principal point to be settled in all problems of through transporta- 
tion. It might, however, be urged that Locust Point and other 
deep-water frontages on the west side of Chesapeake Bay will, in 
all cases, command the preference as shipping points for European 
and Eastern or Southern ports, in view of the fact that wharf- 
frontage on that side of the Bay is not exposed to the wind and 
sea as that on the east side. The railroads also converging to 
Baltimore from the South and West, have their present termini on 
the west side of the city. In almost all large cities, the tide of 
improvement generally sets " Westward." There is no reason why 
in the case of Baltimore there should be an exception to this recog- 
nized idea. Locust Point and the western wharves of the i^orth- 
Western Branch may not be able to accommodate the rapidly 
increasing commerce of Baltimore, but there are other western 
deep-water harbors, just as accessible to Baltimore as Hoboken 
and Staten Island are to New York ; and the same energy and 
consistency of purpose, which has enabled Baltimoreans to utilize 
fully the short line geographical advantages of their location in 
connection with the West and Southwest, and by tunnelling 
mountains and bridging immense rivers, to make a trunk road over 
which the varied products of the interior should radiate to the 
city of their choice, will lead them to overcome what may be 
correctly regarded as minor obstacles, and to adapt their harbor 
facilities not merely to the requirements of a section of our com- 
mon country, but to the progressive requirements, if necessary, of 
a whole continent. 



EAILEOAD COXNECTIONS. 43 



(ly.) RAILEOAD CONNECTIONS. 



Allusiox has been made in previous sections of this pamphlet, 
to the fact that Baltimore is, from its peculiar geographical loca- 
tion, at the nearest accessible tide-water on the Atlantic seaboard, 
and from its short rail line advantages, destined to become the 
great shipping point and commercial emporium for the West and 
South. It has been also shown how the commerce of the city has 
increased during the past eight years, since the establishment of a 
regular European line of steamers; and how, under the combined 
influences of cheap fuel, cheap rents, abundant water supply and a 
cheap market, an additional stimulus has been given to all manu- 
facturing industries. The growth of the city proper has been 
traced from the time when in 1729 its area was limited to sixty 
acres, down to the present date, when the population is more than 
320,000 ; and when the assessed, not real, value of property is 
more than $300,000,000. It will be appropriate now to trace out 
in detail the various railroad connections of Baltimore, and indicate 
to the reader who may, perchance, not be thoroughly conversant 
with these facts, that the short rail line advantages claimed for the 
city are not exaggerated ; and it may be advisable in this connec- 
tion to treat of the various railroad lines categorically, in accor- 
dance with the importance of each, and the magnitude of its 
operations. 



(1.) Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. 

The main line extending from Baltimore to Wheeling, a distance 
of 379 miles; connects at Hagerstown Junction, 79 miles from 
Baltimore with the Washington County Railroad, running from 
that point to Hagerstown. The importance of this connection 
must be apparent on reference to the map, because at Hagerstown, 



44 EAILROAD CONNECTIONS. 

control is secured of a portion of the traffic originating in that 
section of the country, which otherwise would be tributary to the 
Cumberland Valley Eailroad and would be naturally diverted to 
Harrisburg or Philadelphia ; at Haeper's Ferry connection is 
made with what is now known as the Harper's Ferry and Valley 
Branchy which consists of the " Winchester and Potomac," " "Win- 
chester and Strasburg," " Manassas Gap Extension " and " Valley 
of Virginia " Railroads. The first named road was leased by the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in 1867, for a period of 
twenty years, at an annual rental of $27,000. The second named 
was leased in 1870, for a term of seventeen years at a rental equi- 
valent to seven per cent, annually on its capital stock. The third 
named, extending from Strasburg to Harrisonburg was leased 
during the autumn or early winter of 1873, while the last named, 
as being a road under process of construction to Salem, and one in 
which the city of Baltimore and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
Company have a large pecuniary interest, is operated in connection 
with the road from Harper's Ferry to Harrisonburg ; but on what 
terms is not known, presumably, however, at cost. This connec- 
tion at Harper's Ferry, renders the traffic originating at present in 
the Shenandoah Valley, tributary to the market of Baltimore ; 
and its present commercial value should not be under estimated, but 
its prospective importance when the Valley Railroad is completed 
to Salem on the line of the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Rail- 
road, is very great ; inasmuch, as it must cause a large proportion 
of the traffic of the Chesapeake and Ohio, and the Atlantic, Mis- 
sissippi and Ohio Railroads to converge to Baltimore instead of 
Richmond and Norfolk. 

Relative to this Valley Railroad, it may be noted that it passes 
through the centre of the great valley of Virginia, a district un- 
surpassed in fertility of soil and in mineral and agricultural wealth, 
and in the thrift and energy of its rapidly increasing population. 
It will command from its opening a heavy local traffic and must 
prove a remunerative investment to its originators. It may be 
noted in this connection that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
Company in pursuance of its consistent policy to build up the 
commercial interests of the city of Baltimore, has been compelled 
to lend a helping hand to the new railroads which were originated 



EAILEOAD C02JNECTI0NS. 45 

to develop the trade of the South, and thus to neutralize the per- 
sistent efforts of the Southern Security Company to divert the 
traffic either to Philadelphia or New York. That these efforts 
were mainly dictated by a determined opposition on the part of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, to the existing management 
♦ of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company is -well known; 
also that advantages were taken of the impecunious condition of 
some prominent southern railroads, to obtain their control. Un- 
expected circumstance3 have conspired to defeat in some measure 
a programme, which aimed practically at shutting off the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad from its geographical alliances with the 
South and the Gulf states ; so that Baltimore can now renew its 
business relations with that section of country, by more than one 
line of railroad ; meanwhile, it is satisfactory to know that the 
Valley Route via Harper's Ferry, will form an important, and 
in all probability the shortest available all rail line between 
Baltimore, New Orleans, Mobile and other southern cities. 
At Cumberland, connection is made with the Pittsburg, Wash- 
ington AND Baltimore Railway, (Connellsville route,) and 
a short line established between the great laboratory of the 
United States and tide-water. It may be noted here that prior to 
the construction of railroads, the w-hole business of the section of 
country lying between Pittsburg and Cumberland was transacted 
at Baltimore. The opening of the Pennsylvania Railroad from 
Pittsburg to Philadelphia caused the diversion of traffic into a new 
channel, but every effort is now being made by the merchants of 
Baltimore to regain their lost supremacy, and if direct connection 
can once be established with the oil regions of Pennsylvania, by 
the construction of an independent road from near Pittsburg on 
the Connellsville route to a junction with the Alleghany Valley 
Railway, a stimulus would at once be given to the petroleum 
traffic at Baltimore which would contribute very largely to its 
commercial prominence. At Piedmont, by connection with the 
system of the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 
Baltimore obtains control of a coal business whose volume is im- 
mense, and which is annually increasing. The direct and indirect 
advantages accruing to the city from this coal trade cannot be over- 
estimated, and the day is not far distant when its magnitude can 



46 RAILROAD CONNECTIONS. 

only be limited by the terminal facilities for handling it and guar- 
anteeing its expeditious and economical shipment. At Grafton 
the North-west Virginia Railroad, now known as the Parhersburg 
Division, diverges from the main stem, and large expenditures 
have been made by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company 
between Grafton and Parkersburg, with the view of perfecting 
their railroad connections with Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, 
the Mississippi Valley and generally with the South-west. It is 
believed that $9,000,000 have been invested in reconstruction of 
the North-west Virginia Railroad, arching its twenty-three tunnels, 
and building the magnificent iron bridge over the Ohio river at 
Parkersburg, and that such outlay was fully justified is evidenced 
by the rapidly increasing business from the section of country 
which it taps, and the greater proportion of which converges to 
Baltimore as a market. With reference to the advantages to be 
derived by the city of Cincinnati from availing itself of the short 
line via Parkersburg, the President of the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad Company made the following appropriate remarks in 
1870 : " For Cincinnati the advantages are most palpable. The 
average distance in favor of Cincinnati in communication with 
Baltimore, as compared with New York, is 240 miles. Can it be 
possible that with such immense advantages, with unequaled piers 
and fire-proof warehouses furnished without charge for foreign 
steamships, with the cheapest and enormous facilities for transporta- 
tion between the East and West — can it be possible that if Balti- 
more will but continue her vigor and enterprise, will furnish 
additional lines of steamships to Europe, that the business of all 
these vast regions will not be attracted through their interests to 
Baltimore instead of New York ? Can be possible that when more 
than 200 miles of land transportation can be saved in the interests 
of the farmer and the consumer in the West, that this great ad- 
vantage will not be availed of? The Queen City will yet reach its 
highest prosperity and command enlarged trade through the use of 
its shortest and cheapest outlet to the ocean. It could thus compete 
boldly and successfully with any Western city, and its situation in 
relation to the trade of great territories would be superior and im- 
pregnable. We said to her citizens, that Baltimore had long 
recognized the strength of Cincinnati, that the preceding adminis- 



EAILEOAD CONNECTIONS. 47 

tration, and for nearly twelve years the present administration, 
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company had continued 
to spend its capital, iu all that period without net result, in 
constructing the shortest line between the cities, until upwards of 
$10,000,000 have been invested in the line from Grafton to Cin- 
cinnati ; $8,000,000 have been expended in building the Parkers- 
burg Branch; $1,000,000 for the bridge at Parkersburg to connect 
the Marietta and Cincinnati with the Baltimore and Ohio Road, 
and $1,000,0000 of aid has been extended to the Marietta and 
Cincinnati Company. Our conviction has been that this line must 
be perfected, its tunnels permanently arched, the bridge erected, 
and the entire line made first-class. Thus our millions have been 
expended. We still believe that our faith has not been misplaced, 
and that soon this splendid and shortest line will be adopted as the 
great highway for commerce and travel and prove the source of 
the greatest fruition to the communities interested." Again, in 
connection with Louisville, President Garrett remarked in the same 
tone in 1870: "In a short period Louisville can command this 
very improved, direct and economical route to the seaboard. The 
favorable comparative distances of which you can thus avail 
for your foreign and general commerce, are very remarkable. 
To Baltimore, the distance by this line through Cincinnati, is 696 
miles. To New York, by the Ohio and Mississippi and New 
York and Erie, it is 987 miles — 291 mWas further. By the New 
York Central, 989 miles — making 293 miles greater distance; 
and by the Allentown route of the Pennsylvania Road, the dis- 
tance is 155 miles greater." Again referring to St. Louis and the 
shortest route to the seaboard, the following statement was made: 
" Passing from Chicago to St. Louis, Baltimore reaches its own 
parallel, and affords for that great and progressive city, the shortest 
and most direct route to the seaboard. Through the Ohio and 
Mississippi Railroad to Cincinnati, and the Marietta and Cincin- 
nati Road ; thence the Baltimore and Ohio Road presents a line 
210 miles less in distance to Baltimore, than the average distance 
by the three trunk lines used from St. Louis to New York. That 
city to maintain and increase her commerce, must avail of the vast 
advantages of this short route and of the economies of the port of 
Baltimore. St. Louis appreciates the necessity of close, improved 



48 RAILEOAD CONNECTIONS. 

and increased relations with Baltimore. Her leading and most 
thoughtful citizens express their anxiety to secure a cordial and 
effective alliance with Baltimore through its great highway — the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad." Turning again to the main stem, 
the reader will find that at Benwood, 375 miles from Baltimore, 
connection is made with the Central Ohio Railroad, by another 
magnificent iron bridge over the Ohio river, and at Wheeling, 
with the Cleveland and Pittsburg and Hempfield Railroads, the 
latter of which extending from Wheeling to Washington, Pa., is 
controlled and operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
Company. The value of this connection at Benwood, and the im- 
portance of securing in the interests of Baltimore its independent 
control, was thoroughly appreciated and acted on by the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad Company at the close of the war, or rather in 
18G6, when a provisional contract was entered into for leasing the 
Central Ohio Railroad at a fixed percentage of earnings, with the 
understanding that such percentage should in no case be less than 
$160,000 per annum, a sum which was required to meet the 
annual interest on the bonded debt of the lessors and the annual 
contributions to the sinking fund. At the time of making this 
contract, which subsequently was shaped into a lease for twenty 
years, renewable indefinitely, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
Company regarded the action as important in view of the connec- 
tions for Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and other Western points made 
via Columbus. The anticipations then formed as to the prospec- 
tive volume of traffic to be obtained at Columbus, have been some- 
what interferred with by leases of roads west of that point in a 
rival interest, and at what is considered by many as an extravagant 
rental ; but arrangements have been made for obtaining a large 
amount of the traffic converging to Indianapolis, over the India- 
napolis, Cincinnati and Lafayette Railroad; and although the 
lease of the Central Ohio Railroad has not hitherto been a direct 
source of profit to the lessees, still advantages have accrued to the 
city of Baltimore from the lease, and these advantages will be 
much more appreciated when the line between Bellaire and New- 
ark becomes an important link in the new short line route, over 
which the almost unlimited traffic from Chicago and the North-' 
West will be carried. At Neioarh, thirty-three miles from Colum- 



EAILROAD CONNECTIONS. 49 

bus, the western terminus of the railroad system via Bellaire, 
under the control of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, 
connection is made with the Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark, 
and the Newark, Somerset and Straitsville Railroads, both of 
which are leased and operated respectively as the Lake Erie and 
Straitsville Divisions. By control of the first named road from 
Newark to Sandusky, the lessees obtained a favorable line to the 
Lakes, and via Monroeville, an available route to Chicago, over 
the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, while by the 
latter access v/as gained to valuable, and from present appearances, 
highly remunerative coal fields. In consequence of heavy ex- 
penditures requisite to put the road between Newark and San- 
dusky in first class condition, the lease of this property has hitherto 
resulted in a loss, but a large amount of traffic originating i.u 
Chicago, Toledo, and other places, has been diverted to Baltimore 
as a market in consequence of this lease, and as the whole trans- 
portation of the new Baltimore, Pittsburg and Chicago Railroad, 
will, within a few weeks, be concentrated on ninety miles of the 
Lake Erie Division, viz : from Centreton to Newark, the lease of 
this property must result in profit during future years. Relative 
to this new road, from Centreton to Chicago, which is destined to 
have such an important bearing, not merely on the annual earnings 
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and its leased lines, but, on the 
commercial future of the city of Baltimore, it may be appropriately 
noted here that it commences at Centreton, and thence follows a 
course about midway between the Lake Shore and Michigan 
Southern Railway, on the north, and the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne 
and Chicago Railway, on the south, through Ohio and Indiana, 
passing by the flourishing towns of Republic, Tiffin, Fostoria, New 
Baltimore, Deshler, Holgate, Defiance and Hicksville in Ohio and 
Auburn, Avilla, Albion, Milford, Syracuse and New Bremen in 
Indiana, the entire distance from the Lake Erie Division to 
Chicago being about 268 miles. In locating this line great care 
has been taken to secure low gradients and easy curvature, while 
as little deviation as possible is made from an air line. It is stated 
on good authority that the line as located does not vary more than 
2j^ miles from the air line, and the maximum grade will not 
exceed 26 feet to the mile. With these advantages of easy grades, 
4 



50 EAILEOAD CONNECTIONS. 

an air line and curves of not less than one degree, and with liabili- 
ties per mile, much less than those of other roads with which it 
will be placed in competition, it would be unreasonable to suppose 
that Baltimore will not be able to control through cheap rates and 
expeditious transit a large traffic with the North-west, from which 
it has hitherto been practically debarred through not having an 
independent line to Chicago. The value of this new road will be 
apparent from a resume of the connections which it makes between 
Centreton and Chicago. At Tiffin it connects with the Cincin- 
nati, Sandusky and Cleveland and the Mansfield, Cold Water and 
Lake Michigan Railroads; at Fostoria Math the Lake Erie and 
Louisville Railroad; at Beshler with the Cincinnati, Hamilton 
and Dayton Railroad; at Defiance with the Ohio State Canal 
and the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway ; at Auburn with 
the Detroit, Eel River and Illinois and Fort Wayne, Jackson and 
Saginaw Railroads ; at Avilla with the Grand Rapids and Indi- 
ana Railroad; at Milford with the Cincinnati, Wabash and 
Michigan Railroad; and at Walkerton with the Indianapolis, 
Peru and Chicago Railroad, while connection will be made with 
the Michigan Central and the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern 
Railways some twenty miles east of Chicago. Special favorable 
arrangements have been made with the Illinois Central Railroad 
Company for joint use of track and depot ground at the Lake 
Front in Chicago, and a tract of land covering forty acres has been 
secured in South Chicago, on which it is proposed to erect the 
largest shops yet erected in or out of Chicago. The engine house 
will have stalls for thirty-two locomotives and there will be car 
shops and work shops of all kinds to correspond. It may be noted 
that the road from Centreton to Chicago will not cost when com- 
pleted much more than $6,000,000 or an average of $23,000 per 
mile, that the necessary funds have been furnished by the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad Company, and that there is no funded or 
floating debt as a lien upon the road. Numerous pertinent facts 
and figures might be given here as indicating the superior finan- 
cial basis on which the system of railroads now controlled by the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in the interests of Balti- 
more rest as compared with that of its trunk line competitors, but 
their perusal and study would doubtless weary the reader and 



EAILROAD COKN'ECTIONS. 51 

even thus much about western connections would not have been 
written had it not been deemed advisable in justice to the commerce 
of Baltimore to show how much her geographical advantages for 
becoming the port for Western produce will be increased by the 
completion of this new road. There will be three connections for 
Toledo, and the merchants will be able to avail themselves in con- 
sequence of low competitive rates. The whole section of country, 
drained by the Toledo, Wabash and Western Railway and its 
branches including Central and Southern Illinois and Missouri will 
become tributary to Baltimore by the new connection at .Defiance, 
while from Auburn and from Avilla in connection with the vast 
forests of Michigan and Indiana can be built up a lumber trade 
which will equal if not surpass that of other rival cities. While 
however the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company has been 
closely occupied in perfecting its western connections, improvements 
in connection with the South have not been neglected, aid has been 
as stated above extended to the Valley Railroad, a new connection 
has been established at Alexandria with the Washington City, 
Virginia Midland and Great Southern Railway, the Metropolitan 
Branch Railroad shortening the distance between Washington and 
Baltimore and principal Western cities, has been completed, in 
fact every thing which was possible has been done to carry out the 
ideas by which the originators of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
were animated, and to utilize geographical advantages of location 
by the establishment of a perfect railroad system which would 
render the business of the South-west and North-west tributary to 
Baltimore. 



{2.) Northern Central Railway. 

The railroad connections of Baltimore, via the Northern Cen- 
tral Railway, and its various tributaries, are, in some respects, as 
important as those of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which 
have just been described in detail; but the policy of the managers 
controlling the line, via Harrisburg, has not been consistently 
directed to building up the commerce of the city, and they have 
labored under difficulties in the shape of terminal facilities which 
were not experienced by their competitors. At the same time, it 



52 EAILROAD CONNECTIONS. 

cannot be denied that if the Northern Central Railway had been 
governed directly in the interest of Baltimore, it would have been 
instrumental in building up more varied industries ; in fact, while 
the allegiance of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is due to Balti- 
more only, that of the Northern Central Railway is divided be- 
tween Philadelphia and Baltimore, and this state of affairs must 
continue so long as a controlling interest in the management is 
held by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Statements given 
in a previous portion of this pamphlet indicate the tonnage 
brought to Baltimore via the Northern Central Railway, and its 
varied character. The iron, marble, lime and granite of Balti- 
more county stand side by side in the yards with the anthracite 
coal of Pennsylvania, the coal oil of Venango county, the rich 
ores of Lake Superior, the lumber of Western New York, and 
the cereals or other products of the West and North-west, in 
brief, all the resources of this vast country are represented in the 
general traffic of the Northern Central Railway, and there is no 
doubt that a much larger representation could be secured, in the 
event of suitable arrangements being made for terminal facilities 
at tide- water. The line now owned by the Northern Central Rail- 
way Company was commenced a short time after the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad, under a charter granted to the "Baltimore 
and Susquehanna Railroad Company," and it was expected at that 
time that concurrent legislation would be obtained from the Legis- 
lature of Pennsylvania, but in this respect the original projectors 
of the road were disappointed, and it was not until 1832 that 
authority was given to incorporate the "York and Maryland 
Railroad," said legislation having been further supplemented in 
1846 by a charter incorporating the " York and Cumberland 
Railroad Company," to construct a railroad from York to a junc- 
tion with the Cumberland Valley Railroad at some point between 
Mechanicsburg and West of the Susquehanna river. Ini 1857 
the " Susquehanna Railroad Company" was chartered to build a 
railroad from some point on the line of the York and Cumber- 
land Railroad to Sunbury, and the correct geographical alliance 
of this enterprise with those of the railroad companies previously 
mentioned was so fully appreciated that they were allowed to sub- 
scribe to the capital stock of the Susquehanna Railroad Company, 



RAILROAD CONNECTIONS. 53 

and the city of Baltimore loaned its credit to the extent of §500,000. 
In 1854: the Legislature of the State of Maryland, and in 1855 
that of the Commonwealth of Pennsylv^ania, passed an act author- 
izing a consolidation of all the interests between Baltimore and 
Sunbury, conditioned that there should be no discrimination in 
favor of Baltimore as against Philadelphia. Provision was also 
made at the same time for consolidating the amount due by the 
railway company to the State of Maryland, by the annual pay- 
ment of $90,000, equal to six per cent, on $1,500,000. Under 
these auspices, the road was completed to Sunbury prior to the 
outbreak of the war in 1861, but the enterprise was not remunera- 
tive until the fortunes of war concentrated on to the Northern 
route, via Harrisburg, a large amount of traffic which, under other 
circumstances, would have been tributary to the Southern line. In 
February, 1863, the Shamokin Valley and Pottsville Railroad, 
extending from Sunbury to Mt. Carmel, and opening up an ex- 
tensive coal region, was leased for nine hundred and ninety-nine 
years, and in May of the same year the Elmira and Williamsport 
Railroad w^as leased for a similar period. In 1866 the unexpired 
term of lease, held by the Erie Railway Company, of the Elmira, 
Jefferson and Canandaigua and Chemung Railroads, was assumed 
by the Isorthern Central Railway Company, and through effect- 
ing these arrangements, control and independent management was 
obtained of a through line between Baltimore and Canandaigua 
three hundred and twenty-five miles in length — (the forty miles 
between Sunbury and Williamsport being practically in the same 
interest, although owned by the Philadelphia and Erie Railway 
Company.) A detailed account has been given of the various 
steps by which the Northern Central Company attained its pres- 
ent position, with the view of informing the reader what an extent 
of territory the Company covers in its operations. Traffic for 
Baltimore originating on any of the lines owned directly by the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, or under its control, comes via Harris- 
burg. This is especially applicable to business originating in 
Pittsburg, of which, until the Connellsville route was opened, the 
Northern Central Railway had a practical monopoly. All the 
petroleum conveyed to Baltimore, other than that which is pro- 
cured from West Virginia, is sent via Harrisburg, and all the 



54 RAILROAD CONNECTIONS. 

trade for Baltimore originating in Western JS^ew York, Bnffalo 
and the Dominion of Canada, pays tribute to the same route. An 
impetus could doubtless be given to this traffic if the construc- 
tion of appropriate terminal facilities at tide- water was carried out. 
The necessity for having such conveniences for shipment of produce 
has long been realized by the managers, and during 1873 a lease 
was entered into with the Canton Company for 700 feet of water 
front on the Susquehanna wharf, with a depth of over 1,200 feet 
from Third street to the Port Warden's line, and also a large lot 
below Eighth avenue, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets, 
and binding on Twelfth avenue about 1,000 feet, and running to 
the water of the Patapsco river, at an annual rent of $15,000 for 
the two lots together. The understanding of this lease was that 
the first lot was to be improved for the tide- water terminus of the 
Northern Central Railway and Baltimore and Potomac Railroad 
for the grain, j^roduce and general merchandize trade, and the 
other lot on the Patapsco river was to be improved with coal piers 
and wharves. It was stated at the time of entering into this lease 
that "the lessees would expend at any rate $1,000,000 on the 
wharves ^nd terminal improvements," but the outlay has not yet 
been made, neither has the stipulated coal tonnage been sent over 
the Union Railroad to Canton. The railway company still uses 
the mule and horse tracks heretofore laid down on the grades of 
Monument street. Central avenue and other streets to tidewater at 
Fell's Point, the use of said tracks being perpetuated by the per- 
mission of the City Council of Baltimore, in violation, as it is 
stated, of an express contract made with the Canton Company for 
their removal on the reorganization and reconstruction of the 
Union Railroad. It may be noted here that a perpetual lease of 
the Northern Central Railway to the Pennsylvania Railroad Com- 
pany has been agitated during the past eighteen months, and 
negotiations looking to such lease have been partly interrupted by 
the panic of 1873, and partly by a controversy amongst the stock- 
holders in regard to the rate of dividends to be paid under the lease. 
This may account for the delay in carrying out the programme for 
improving the leased ground at Canton, or it may be that the 
Northern Central Railway Company are awaiting further develop- 
ments with the expectation that superior terminal facilities will 



EAILROAD CONXECTIOXS. 55 

be brought within its reach at a more convenieut and available 
harbor. 



(5.) Baltimore and Potomac Railroad. 

It seems extraordinary that while the State of Maryland and 
the city of Baltimore were devoting their energies to building and 
perfecting connections with the West and other sections of the 
country, they should have ignored, to a very great extent, traffic 
originating within forty or fifty miles of the city in some of the 
richest agricultural counties of the State, and for which steamers 
or sailing craft furnished the only means of transportation. The 
Western Shore was until recently entirely without railroad facil- 
ities, and although a charter had been obtained in 1853 for con- 
structing the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad, still no county or 
State aid could at that time be procured, from the fact that the 
inhabitants and property owners of that section were willing to 
" let well alone," and could not be brought to appreciate the stimu- 
lus which railroad construction would give to their local industries, 
and the enhanced value of their property. It may have been that 
the land owners in these counties were all wealthy and hated any 
thing like innovation; be that as it may, just as two sections of 
the road from Marlboro' to Odeuton (junction of the Annapolis 
and Elk Ridge Railroad) had been placed under contract, the war 
broke out; a period of inactivity followed; the whole formerly 
existing system of labor Avas disorganized, and the property owners 
of the various counties through which the road was located, then 
alive to the paramount importance of a railroad, were so financially 
crippled that they could not contribute to its construction. The 
building also of a competing line was also strenuously opposed by 
the managers of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, and 
it was with great difficulty that the necessary additional legislation 
for perfecting the work was obtained. This legislation was carried 
in the session of 1867, and immediately thereafter negotiations 
were entered into with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for 
aid in constructing the road, and as independent control of a road 
to the National capital, and thence to a connection with the 
Southern system of railroads, was deemed advisable, the necessary 



56 EAILEOAD CONNECTIONS. 

financial aid was granted, and the road from Washington to Balti- 
more was opened for traffic in July, 1872, and from Bowie (26 
miles from Baltimore) to Pope's Creek, 49 miles, in January, 1873. 
The cost of construction was heavy/, in consequence of the high 
price of labor and material, and the long tunnels under the cities 
of Wasington and Baltimore, but the advantages to be derived by 
the city of Baltimore from its construction cannot be over-estimated. 
New industries will be developed along the new line of road, an 
impetus will be given to the production of tobacco, fruit, early 
vegetables and cereals, all of which will converge to Baltimore as 
a market, while in additioli to the development of purely local 
resources, the interchange of through traffic with Richmond and 
other sections of the South tapped by the connections at Alexandria 
and Quantico must increase in a ratio corresponding with the facil- 
ities furnished for transportation. There is no reason why, with a 
complete through line from Richmond to Weldon, Wilmington, 
Columbia, Augusta, Charleston and Savannah, via the "Atlantic 
Coast Line/' 'and with another through line from Richmond to 
Charlotte, Danville, Spartanburg, Atlanta, West Point, Mont- 
gomery, New Orleans and Mobile, via the Piedmont Air- Line, 
and with the through traffic of both these well-known through lines 
converging to the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad and its con- 
nections, Baltimore, as a commercial centre, should not be largely 
benefitted. There is no reason why, under proper management 
and with appropriate inducements, (that is, if the South, freed from 
its political imbroglios, returns to its normal condition of affluence 
and prosperity,) Baltimore should not avail itself of advantages 
within its grasp and become in the future, as in the past, the gen- 
eral emporium or market for the merchants of the South. 



(^.) Western Ifaryland Railroad. 

While the capitalists and merchants of Baltimore have been 
busily occupied in perfecting their railroad connections with 
the West, North and South, they have not been unmindful of 
the traffic which must result from the construction of a rail- 
road to develop the mineral wealth of Carroll, Frederick and 



KAILROAD CONNECTIONS. 57 

Washington counties ; said railroad eventually, in all probability 
to be extended to Johnstown, Pa., and to the oil regions. It is 
believed that the Western Maryland Railroad Company is suc- 
cessor to the franchises of the " Baltimore and "VYestrainster Rail- 
road Company," a company originally formed to purchase from 
the "Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad Company," all its 
rights and interest in a branch road, then being constructed from 
a point on its main line within ten miles of the city of Baltimore, 
through Westminster to some point on the Monocacy river in Fred- 
erick county ; which would form the most convenient and direct 
practicable communication between that county and the city of Bal- 
timore. The company operating this road had only succeeded in 
constructing 33 miles from Relay to Union Bridge at the close of 
the war, and was entirely unable to extend the line to Hagerstown 
and Williamsport in consequence of financial difficulties. The 
city authorities of Baltimore, appreciating fully the situation, and 
realizing that without their aid the objects contemplated in the 
original charter could not be carried out, came forward at this junc- 
ture and loaned the company the credit of the city by endorsement of 
bonds and issue of city stock. Under these auspices an independent 
line of road has been built from Fulton Station in Baltimore to Ow- 
ings' Mills; the line has also been completed from Union Bridge to 
Williamsport, where connection is made with the Chesapeake and 
Ohio Canal, and where, as soon as terminal facilities are provided 
at tide-water, a large coal traffic will originate. A tide-water 
terminus at Canton has been contemplated, and arrangements were 
entered into looking to favorable business relations with the Balti- 
more and Potomac Tunnel and the Union Railroad ; but the 
schedule of rates up to the present time has been prohibitory 
except for purely local business, which will naturally bear a 
somewhat higher charge to avoid transfers. The charges from 
Fulton Station to tide-water are 39 cents per ton or even more, 
and the gross charge on coal per ton is consequently higher than 
by other lines; hence, under present circumstances, unless the 
AVestern Maryland Railroad can secure some clieaper access to a 
shipping point, its coal trade must of necessity be confined to local 
demands. As pertinent to this subject, a quotation is given from 
the annual report of the Canton Company for 1874. " The rates 



58 RAILROAD CONNECTIONS. 

of toll demanded by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad of the 
Western Maryland Road for the passage through her tunnel of 
coal and other tonnage, and also over the short link of the North- 
ern Central Railway that connects with the Union Road tracks at 
North street, are, in fact, prohibitory on a new trade which of 
necessity, must be comparatively small for a year or so; but if 
fostered and encouraged by moderate rates as it ought to be, would 
increase in time to such an amount as, would enable the Western 
Maryland to submit to the charge, under the city ordinance which 
operates on a sliding scale in proportion to the amount of business 
that passes through the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel." Other 
outlets are available for the Western Maryland Railroad, and the 
city of Baltimore will be derelict in duty to itself, if, after having 
made such heavy advances in; the direct interest of the city, she 
does not provide that these advances shall be utilized to the best 
advantage, and economical tide- water facilities furnished without 
delay in accordance with the increase of traffic. A comparatively 
cheap line (as to construction,) can be built along the western 
limits of the city to the deep water below Spring Gardens, or to 
the deeper location at Curtis' Bay, (now Pennington.) It is not 
merely however as a purely local road, bringing the inexhaustible 
supplies of the Cumberland Basin to tide- water, together with tlie 
agricultural products of Carroll, Frederick and Washington coun- 
ties, that the Western Maryland Railroad is to be regarded. Those 
who originally projected it, and those who are associated with its 
present management, have still higher and more extended aspira- 
tions for its future ; they know that the road can be extended to 
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a distance of 100 miles, at a cost per 
mile not to exceed that of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ; they 
know that by construction of such extension, Pittsburg would be 
brought within 258 miles of Baltimore, and that every section of 
the road would yield a heavy and annually increasing tonnage in 
coal, iron ore, lumber and other agricultural produce; all tributary 
to the city of Baltimore, all tending to build up her reputation 
and prestige as a manufacturing and commercial centre. It may 
be noted that by sucK a line, if operated conjointly with the Penn- 
sylvania and Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroads, the 
distance between Chicago and Baltimore would be reduced to 727 



RAILROAD CONNECTIONS. 69 

miles, as against 795 miles via Centreton and Newark, and 801 
miles via Pittsburg and Harrisburg. This difference representing 
3 hours time for passenger travel, and in a corresponding ratio for 
freight traffic cannot be ignored, and must be availed of by com- 
peting lines, especially if our prognostications relative to the com- 
mercial prominence of Baltimore are correct, and substantiated by 

facts. 

. -»- . 

(5.) Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. 

The existing connections of Baltimore by railroad West, North 
and South have now been fully alluded to, but it has also a direct 
Eastern connection with Philadelphia, New York and Boston, 
over the line of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore 
Eailroad. It may be presumed that almost all the traffic passing 
over this road, from Baltimore to Philadelphia and beyond, is 
through to and from the South and West; a certain proportion 
also of the local business, more especially that originating west of 
Perryville, will doubtless radiate to Baltimore as a market, while 
east of that point the trade and business travel will go to Phila- 
delphia. The all-rail connection, however eastward, is evidently 
highly appreciated, and as unusual facilities are furnished by the 
railroad company for excursion travel, trains during the summer 
months are patronized to an extent which compensates for the 
decrease in through business, incident to the recess of Congress. 
Cars are transferred, without breaking bulk, from the Philadel- 
phia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, in Canton, to Locust 
Point, and there made up into trains for the West and South. 
Traffic for the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad connects via the 
Union Railroad and Tunnel. 



(6.) Baltimore and Brum Point Railroad. 

Prominent among the prospective railroad connections of the 
city of Baltimore, may be mentioned the Baltimore and Drum 
Point Railroad, now in process of construction from Baltimore to 
Drum Point, on the Patuxent River, a distance of about seventy- 



60 I RATLROAD CONNECTIONS. 

four miles. The enterprise has created a great deal of attention 
throughout the State, and is regarded favorably by the State 
authorities, in view of the fact that Drum Point Harbor is pro- 
nounced by officers of the United States Coast Survey to be infe- 
rior only to that of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and has been 
for a long time regarded by intelligent merchants and shippers as 
a point which would prove a valuable adjunct to the commerce of 
Baltimore, if connected with that city by a railroad ; affording as 
it does the deepest water — never liable to obstruction by ice or 
otherwise — and within an easy run of the Capes. Time will of 
course demonstrate whether these ideas about establishing a coal 
depot at the southern terminus of the new road will be success- 
fully realized, and whether a port, which has no opportunities of 
disposing of or distributing inward cargoes, can be made a finan- 
cial success ; but pending the solution of this question it may be 
stated that the development of the fine country between Baltimore 
and Drum Point, by the construction of a railroad, must inure to 
the prosperity both of the State and city, by stimulating the pro- 
duction of the earliest fine fruits and vegetables, which will find a 
ready market in Baltimore, both for immediate consumption and 
for canning. ,A large oyster trade can be also built up, and the 
contributions of tobacco and grain from Anne Arundel and Cal- 
vert counties will be very considerable ; as a proof of this it may be 
stated that the crop of Maryland tobacco inspected in Baltimore 
amounted, in 1872, to 30,000,000 pounds, about one-third of 
which was produced in the counties above mentioned. There are 
also considerable products of butter, milk, eggs, poultry, meats, 
and wood and timber of all kinds. For these productions the 
only means of communication with a market have hitherto been 
by steamboats, which are frequently debarred from running regu- 
larly at a season of the year when their services are most required. 
It is estimated by competent judges, that with certain definite 
means of transportation guaranteed by a railroad, the local pro- 
ductions of the country could be increased at a very low average 
nearly 500 per cent. Another important advantage which Balti- 
more will derive from the construction of the Baltimore and Drum 
Point Railroad, will be the direct route established by it between 
the city and the State capital. The distance between Annapolis 



RAILROAD CONNECTIONS. 61 

and Baltimore by the present route of the Washington Branch and 
Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroads is forty miles ; by the Balti- 
more and Drum Point Railroad the distance will be only twenty 
miles, and will be run within one hour, without change of cars, 
and at a much less charge. As an evidence of the amount of traffic 
now carried on between Annapolis and Baltimore, with very imper- 
fect and unsatisfactory arrangements, it may be stated that the 
revenue derived therefrom exceeds S90,000 per annum. It is diffi- 
cult to predict what increase may be anticipated when the new 
road is built and superior conveniences furnished for the traveling 
and shipping public. 



62 PEESENT TEEMIXAIi FACILITIES. 

/ 



(Y.) PEESENT TERMINAL FACILITIES. 



In alluding to the existing terminal facilities at Baltimore for 
transacting a large commerce, coastwise and with European ports, 
it will be distinctly understood by the reader that reference will 
only be made to the tide-water termini, and not to those points 
in the city proper which are only used in connection with local 
traffic, and to secure its prompt and economical handling. It will 
be advisable also to ignore, for practical purposes, the harbor and 
basin of Baltimore, as they are termed, because as shown above in 
Article III — on the Situation of the Harbor — they are only adapted 
for small coasting vessels, drawing a few feet of water, and are, 
under existing circumstances, a serious drawback instead of an 
advantage to the city. The terminal facilities, therefore, may be 
considered as comprised in those at Locust Point and Canton. 



(-/.) Locust Point, 



The advantages of Locust Point as a tide-water terminus were 
appreciated by the managers of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
at an early period in its history, and in 1848 Mr. Thomas Swann, 
then President of the Company, purchased some land, and tracks 
were built for the coal traffic, which increased more than 150 per 
cent, in the course of two years through what were then considered 
favorable arrangements for its shipment. In 1851, three years 
after the, first purchase by Mr. Swann, alluded to above, it was 
found that the lands of the company were entirely inadequate to 
the requirements of the augmented traffic, and an inducement was 
held out to private parties to erect their own wharves on the 
northern front of Whetstone Point. This inducement, which was 
in tlie shape of a drawback of six cents per ton on all coal received 
by parties at their own wharves, has produced very favorable 
results, as is attested by the numerous wharves now in existence, 



PRESENT TERMINAL FACILITIES. 63 

which are taxed to their full capacity. The arrangement of this 
system of private wharves at Locust Point is very perfect, and the 
shutes are constructed so that coal is loaded from the cars directly 
into the hold of the vessel at a merely nominal cost, the drawback 
alone guaranteeing a handsome interest on the money invested in 
the original erection of the wharves. In the twelve years imme- 
diately subsequent to the purchase of their property at Locust 
Point, the managers of the Baltimore and Ohio Eailroad Com- 
pany did little, if any thing, towards its general improvement, 
otherwise than by securing facilities for handling the coal traffic — 
but in 1860, after their connections with the "West had been estab- 
lished, fresh attention was directed to the advantageous situation 
of the property as a tide- water terminus, and a European line of 
steamships was projected. All efforts in this direction were, how- 
ever, temporarily neutralized by the outbreak of the war, and the 
discouragement of all public enterprises incident thereto, neither 
was the subject publicly agitated again until 1865, when, as before 
stated, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company purchased from 
the United States Government four steamships, which were named 
respectively the Alleghany, Carroll, Somerset and Worcester, but 
which were shortly found to have too limited a carrying capacity 
for the increasing business, and were consequently superceded by 
the magnificent Clyde built steamers of the North German Lloyds' 
Line. The establishment of this steamship line necessitated the 
immediate construction of steamship piers and warehouses. The 
piers, wharves and warehouses have been built in the most sub- 
stantial and approved manner, with every possible precaution 
against damage by fire or other casualty, and one of the piers is 
760 feet long and 90 feet wide, while the other is 675 feet in length 
with a width of 100 feet. These two piers are covered over with 
iron sheds, and on each there is a double track, on which the cars 
are run in directly from the yard. There is a space of 100 feet 
between each of these two piers, and another space of 100 feet 
between the second steamship pier and the next wharf. It was 
estimated in the construction of these docks that facilities would 
be furnished for loading and unloading, if necessary, at one time 
four large steamships. Freight can be transferred directly from 
the hold of the steamer to the cars, and'i;tce versa. In addition 



64 PRESENT TERMINAL FACILITIES. 

there is an extensive bonded warehouse on the pier, and in all the 
improvements, as would be evident to any careful and intelligent 
observej', the economical and expeditious handling of merchandise 
has been kept constantly in view. One of these piers is now 
devoted to the through traffic to or from New York, Philadelphia 
and Boston, destined for the main line, which is brought by the 
various steamers running to these Eastern cities, the volume of 
which is much larger than would be anticipated from the strong 
competition existing for transportation between the East and 
West. Apropos of these docks, it may be noted that the visitor 
is very forcibly struck with their admirable system of construction 
and general arrangement. All the buildings along the water-front 
are surrounded on three sides by water, the docks are, with but one 
exception, one hundred feet wide, and they are presumed to be of 
an uniform depth of twenty-four feet; although it is believed 
that this depth is maintained by continual dredging, there being 
no active current to carry away accumulating deposits. There are 
at present, seven docks; the first at the western limit of the com- 
pany's water front, between the two steamship piers above men- 
tioned ; the second, between the second steamship pier and an 
extensive wharf; the third, between the wharf and the small 
elevator ; the fourth, between the small elevator and the railroad 
ferry ; the fifth, between the railroad ferry and what soon will be 
the coffee warehouse ; the sixth, between the proposed coffee ware- 
house and the large new elevator ; the seventh, between the last 
mentioned elevator and a wharf which runs back to the walls of 
the Fort. The improvements in connection with the first, second, 
third, fourth and sixth docks may be considered as complete; 
between the fifth and sixth docks, the company are engaged in 
constructing after the most substantial and approved designs, a 
large coffee warehouse. This warehouse will be more than 267 
feet long by 77 feet wide. It will consist of two stories and will 
be absolutely fire-proof. The massive foundation of this ware- 
house rests on piles, or rather on a substantial frame-work placed 
on piles and braced securely, with a view of obviating any ulti- 
mate settling of the foundation. Stone, brick and iron are the 
only materials which will enter into the construction of this ware- 
house, and single tracks capable of accommodating nine cars each, 



PEESENT TERMINAL FACILITIES. 65 

will be placed on each side. A similar warehouse with equal 
facilities for handling traffic, will be built on the wharf contiguous 
to the seventh dock, and this will be devoted to the storage of 
sugar. The main object of the company in erecting these two 
substantial warehouses for sugar and coffee, is to foster the rapidly 
increasing trade between Baltimore and the West Indies or South 
America, and to stimulate the importation of these two staple 
articles for the West and North-west via Baltimore ; in fact, when 
all these plans are consummated, Baltimore will become the most 
convenient and economical port of entry for commodities which 
have heretofore been distributed from New York. The commer- 
cial interests of the city will also be much benefited by these im- 
provements, through the attraction of a much larger number of 
vessels to Baltimore as a port of entry ; hitherto, conveniences 
have been furnished for a large export trade, and but, compara- 
tively speaking, little attention has been paid to the storage re- 
quirements of an import trade; hereafter, vessels plying between 
Baltimore and foreign ports can rely on a full cargo both ways, the 
rates of freight can be correspondingly reduced, and the consumers 
of the West equally with its producers, will derive substantial 
advantages from a reduction in first cost, and from a low rate both 
on ocean and inland transportation. In connection with its sys- 
tem of wharves, docks and warehouses, the Baltimore and Ohio 
Kailroad Company has established at Locust Point a railroad ferry 
across to Canton, where it connects with the Philadelphia, Wil- 
mington and Baltimore Railroad. There are two slips, each 40 
feet wide, into which barges are run having a capacity of ten cars 
each; and it is stated that during the busy season, as many as 
250 cars a day arc transferred ; in fact, by having such facilities, the 
company obviates entirely a tedious and expensive transfer through 
the city, and a large through business is transacted between 
New York and Philadelphia, or the South and West via the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The visitor however, at Locust 
Point is perhaps struck most forcibly with the elevators there con- 
tiguous to the fourth and sixth docks. Both of these elevators are 
substantially built after the most approved design, and have con- 
jointly a capacity of 2,100,000 bushels. The arrangements for 
handling grain elicit the unqualified admiration of all who have 



66 PEESENT TERMINAL FACILITIES. 

inspected them and are deservedly pronounced superior to any now 
in use on the Atlantic Sea-board. The smaller elevator, (the first 
built,) is 150 feet in length by 80 feet in width, with 120 bins, 9 
feet G inches square and 65 feet in depth, and eight elevators, five 
for receiving and three for shipping grain. The large elevator is 
324 feet 10 inches long, 96 feet 10 inches wide and 168 feet 10 
inches high, it is worked by two engines of 400 horse power, and 
has 16 receiving with 8 shipping elevators. The bins are 210 in 
number, 11 feet six inches square on the inside and 94 feet 3 inches 
deep. There are 300 buckets attached to the belt of each elevator, 
and their capacity is estimated at 100 bushels per minute, in fxctthe 
facilities for handling grain are almost unlimited. The large eleva- 
tor is approached by four sets of tracks, two of Avliich run directly 
into the elevator building. The reader will easily comprehend 
that in utilizing to the fullest extent the 80 acres of land, which 
they own at Locust Point, the engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio 
Kailroad Company has exercised consummate skill : the coal traffic 
has its special branches, with sidings and other accommodations; 
the steamship piers have their own peculiar tracks, switches and 
turn-outs, while for what is known as the New York Line, and in 
connection with the railroad ferry, a new road has been built along 
the southern water front of the peninsula. In this labyrinth of 
tracks, duly connected with each other by switches, so as to secure 
in all instances quick handling of the cars, are more than twenty 
miles of iron and steel, and this track mileage will be further in- 
creased when the company's land between the new elevator and the 
walls of Fort McHenry is extended and improved. And yet with 
all these facilities, with a capacity for handling one thousand cars 
daily, exclusive of the coal traffic, a question arises whether with 
their limited area the Company Avill be able to accommodate in its 
present location the large accretions of traffic, which must naturally 
result from the opening of a direct avenue to Chicago and the 
North- West. The crowded condition of the piers indicates very 
clearly that they are now taxed to the utmost capacity : no further 
extension of water front can be secured, unless by the purchase of 
the Fort McHenry property from the government, %vhich can 
hardly be anticipated, and it Avould be wise for the railroad com- 
pany, even in this comparative infancy of its export and import 



PEESENT TERMINAL FACILITIES. 67 

trade to make definite arrangements for securing another tide 
water terminus, to which a large proportion of its coal and petro^ 
leum business could be transferred, and the yard or grounds at 
Locust Point reserved exclusively for grain, coifee, sugar, and 
other general merchandise ; also for its through passenger traffic 
which will it is believed, be shortly diverted from Camden Station 
to this point, and be thence transferred by ferry to a connection 
with the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad at 
Canton. Much has been done already, and that much in the 
most perfect systematic and substantial manner; but this much 
will almost dwindle into insignificance within ten years from this 
time; i. e. if the increase of traffic during the next eight years, is 
commensurate with that which has characterized a similar period 
in the past. There is no reason why the coal trade from Cumber- 
land should not increase from 2,000,000 to 5.000,000 tons a year 
with convenient outlet at tide-water; business of any character 
responds to the facilities furnished, and the efforts of the Philadel- 
phia and Reading Railroad Company, in the direction of building 
up a mammoth coal trade, together with the uniform success which 
has attended such efforts, should convince all intelligent business 
men that what is now a remunerative trade might be doubled, 
nay, quadrupled, by a correct realization of the future and an 
anticipation of its numerous wants. 



{£.) Canton. 

The second existing tide-water terminus of the city of Balti- 
more, is at Canton, on the east side, and the Company owning the 
property, about 2,400 acres, with 32,000 feet, or more than six 
miles of water front, was incorporated in 1828. Extensive privi- 
leges were cotiferred by the Charter or Act of Incorporation, as 
will be seen from the following extract : 

"The objects for which the Canton Company of Baltimore afore- 
said are incorporated, and which the said Company are hereby 
authorized to effect, are the improvements in such manner as shall 
be conformable to the laws of the State, -and not contrary to nor 
inconsistent with any of the rights and privileges of the corpora- 



68 PRESENT TERMINAL FACILITIES. 

tion of the city of Baltimore, or of any citizen or citizens of this 
State or of the United States, of any lands and appurtenances 
which shall belong to said Company, by laying out into lots, 
streets, squares, lanes, alleys, and other divisions^ any such lands 
within the vicinity of the city of Baltimore, or near to any naviga- 
ble water, and erecting, constructing and making thereon all such 
wharves, ships, boats and other vessels, workshops, factories, ware- 
houses, stores, dwellings, and such other buildings and improve- 
ments as may be found or deemed necessary, ornamental or con- 
venient; and letting, selling, leasing, renting or granting on con- 
ditions, or using any lot or any other portion of the said lands for 
agricultural, mining or manufacturing purposes ; or any wharf, 
house, or other building or improvements to be used by any 
mechanic or artizan, or other person, whether in the employ of 
said Company or not, in carrying on any lawful trade, business or 
manufacture authorized or permitted by the laws of the State." 
When the Canton Company was first incorporated Avith its capital 
stock of $2,000,000, sub-divided into 20,000 shares of $100 each, 
the brightest future M'as confidently predicted for its operations. 
The stock became a foot-ball, so to speak, of speculators and 
adventurers, at one time, on the strength of an alliance with the 
Northern Central Ilailway, and the construction of its line to tide- 
water on the Company's property ; at another, of a probable con- 
nection with the Western Maryland Eailroad. The fluctuations in 
the price of the stock were prior to the panic of 1857, almost in- 
credible, ranging from $54 per $100 share to $260 ; but in the 
three years immediately succeeding 1857, the stock passed into the 
hands of some enterprising gentlemen who appreciated its value, 
and addressed themselves unhesitatingly to carrying out the objects 
for which the Company had been originally incorporated ; viz., a 
substantial improvement of the land by leases on ground rent, and 
by the construction of wharves. The proceedings of the Canton 
Company, however, were paralyzed by the same commercial in- 
activity and depression — which depressed the whole State of 
Maryland, during the war from 1861 to 1865. In 1866, a com- 
pany, called the "Union Railroad Company," was incorporated 
with power to construct a railroad from Relay, on the Northern 
Central Railway, where a connection was also made with the 
Western Maryland Railroad, to Canton, by a route which would 



PEESENT TERMINAL FACILITIES. 69 

carry the road around the city, passing down to Canton from the 
north. The capital stock of the Union Railroad Company Avas 
fixed at $600,000, and authority was granted to commence work 
as soon as $150,000 of the share capital had been actually taken 
up. Of such $150,000, one-third was subscribed by the Western 
Maryland Railroad, and one-third by the Canton Company, the 
balance by private individuals. Such a road would practically 
have constituted an extension of the Western Maryland Railroad 
and would not have answered the purpose of accommodating the 
city, neither would it have developed the Canton property in 
accordance with the original design of its stockholders and pro- 
prietors. Another plan was subsequently suggested, looking to a 
connection with the Western Maryland Railroad at or near 
Owing's Mills and with the Northern Central Railway at or near 
the city. In furtherance of this plan the city authorities agreed to 
endorse the bond's of the railroad to the extent $500,000, and aid 
was also promised by the Northern Central Railway Company, 
but experience soon demonstrated the utter folly of attempting to 
carry out such a heavy undertaking with a limited capital, and it 
was not surprising that after having secured the endorsement of 
the city to $117,000 of bonds and having expended of such sum 
$100,000, the work was suspended and a lamentable failure re- 
corded. Again in 1870, through the efforts of the Canton Com- 
pany additional legislation was obtained for the Union Railroad 
Company, and it was proposed that each of the railroads centering 
in Baltimore should join hands with the Canton Company and 
build a road to tide water, it being understood that the tolls to be 
levied on freight passing over such road should be fixed by a com- 
mittee representing all the parties interested. The scheme appeared 
to all intents and purposes feasible, but its originators were unaware 
of the rivalry existing between conflicting interests, and that it was 
almost impossible to harmonize difficulties even when such amicable 
settlement would have tended equally to the advantage of the rail- 
road companies, and to the commercial prosperity of the whole city. 
The so-called federation scheme failed, but in this emergency, 
when all hopes of resuscitating the enterprise were apparently lost, 
the Canton Company, appreciating fully the advantages which 
would accrue to their property from the completion of a railroad 
to their tide-water privileges, unanimously determined to subscribe 



70 PEESENT TERMINAL FACILITIES. 

for the Avhole capital stock of the Union Railroad Company, and 
if necessary, endorse its bonds. Under these auspices, after new 
surveys had been made and new estimates prepared, the work was 
commenced in 1871 and completed in June, 1873, at a cost, in- 
cluding the tunnel, of $2,300,000. The Union liailroad com- 
mences at a junction with the track of the Northern Central 
Railway, near Charles street, and its terminus is at tide-water at 
Canton ; and, together with its eastward branch, connecting- with 
the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, makes 
about seven and a half miles of double track, or, with sidings and 
switches, about eighteen miles of rail. It is laid with a heavy 72 
lb. iron rail. The tunnel is five-eighths of a mile long, and is 
double arched. About three miles from the junction with the 
Northern Central Railway near Charles street, the road bifurcates, 
one branch connecting with the Philadelphia, Wilmington and 
Baltimore Railroad, and establishing an all rail through route to 
Philadelphia and New York ; the other track goes due south, 
passing through the lands of the Canton Company for three 
miles, until it reaches the terminus at tide-water on Ninth street. 
The land required by the Union Railroad Company, including 
right of way for double track with ample facilities for water sta- 
tions, turn tables and other terminal improvements, amounted to 
thirty-five acres, and this has been deeded to the railroad company 
at a consideration of $200,000. The railroad, although managed 
by an independent organization, is practically the property of the 
Canton Company, as they own 5,940 out of (5,000 shares of 
common stock and have endorsed its bonds to the amount of 
$1,383,000 — $783,000 being six per cent, currency, first mortgage, 
and $600,000 seven per cent, gold bonds. There is also an amount 
due the Canton Company for land, $200,000. In making these 
heavy outlays for completing the Union Railroad, amounting in the 
aggregate (as stated above and including $117,000 first mortgage 
six per cent, bonds endorsed by the city) to $2,300,000, the Canton 
Company estimated that in addition to making a valuable perma- 
nent improvement to their property, they were securing a highly 
remunerative investment. It was estimated that at any rate 
800,000 passengers would travel over the road at thirty-five cents 
each, also that 2,000,000 tons of coal, iron, lumber, grain, oil, and 
other merchandise would be transported the, whole distance of 



PRESENT TERMINAL FACILITIES. 71 

seven miles at a fixed tariff of five cents per ton per mile. The 
total direct revenues from this investment would have been, 
according to tlie estimate, about $805,000, and after paying the 
charges for maintenance there would have been an ample surplus to 
pay the annual interest on the bonded debt and a handsome divi- 
dend on the share capital. Unfortunately these sanguine expecta- 
tions have not been realized, but from causes entirely beyond the 
control of tlie directors of the Canton Company or the managers of 
the Union Railroad, and in accordance with a contract entered into 
with the Northern Central Railway Company, the Baltimore and 
Potomac Railroad Company, and the AVestern Maryland Railroad 
Company, for a period of 99 years from December 30th, 1873, a 
tariff for freight and passengers has been fixed, which accords to 
the Union Railroad twenty cents per ton and fifteen cents per 
passenger to or from tide-water at Canton and to or from the Bay- 
view Junction of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore 
Railroad. A considerable revenue, even at this decreased rate of 
charges, could be made, if the traffic were concentrated on the 
road as had been originally anticipated. A promise made by the 
President of the Northern Central Railway, that one million tons 
of coal should be sent over the Union Railroad within twelve 
months after its completion to tide-water, has entirely fallen 
through; the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad has entirely failed 
to furnish its quota of merchandise and general traffic, while little, 
if any, revenue has been derived from the Western Maryland 
Railroad, through the j^rohibitory toll demanded by the Baltimore 
and Potomac Railroad Company on all business passing through 
its tunnel. There is no doubt that the Canton property is in some 
important respects very valuable, and its value would be very 
much enhanced if all the railroads converging to Baltimore came 
in' on the east, and not the west or north side of the city. The 
only railroad whose natural geographical tide-water terminus is at 
Canton, is the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad ; 
and it is believed that arrangements will shortly be made for 
transferring the President Street Depot to a lot on the Canton 
property having 177 feet water front, where extensive improve- 
ments in the shape of wharves and piers are contemplated ; but in 
anticipation of the opening of the Union Railroad and the con- 
centration on it of the traffic of several railroads mentioned above. 



72 PRESENT TERMINAL FACILITIES. 

many large factories and extensive improvements have been pro- 
jected. A large grain elevator will be erected to meet the require- 
ments of the grain trade. This will be in addition to a transfer 
elevator of 100,000 bushels capacity at what is known as "Gard- 
ner's Union Railroad Depot and Elevator," which, according to 
the latest reports published, is transacting a heavy business — the 
receipts for five months ending May 31st, 1874, having been 
5,277,000 bushels, a fraction less than 2,000,000 short of the 
entire year 1873, or 2,327,000 bushels in excess of the correspond- 
ing months of 1873. An extensive car wheel works is also in 
operation, and locomotive, car and carriage building works are also 
projected. Oyster and fruit packing houses, foundries of various 
sorts, blast furnaces, fertilizer manufacturers, sugar refineries, steam 
saw mills, planing mills and sash factories, distilleries, coal oil 
refineries, breweries, chair and furniture factories, together with 
other manufacturing establishments, are already built and in opera- 
tion on the grounds of the company. A large and thrifty larboring 
population is being attracted to Canton as a residence, and even if 
the railroad companies fail to make Canton their principal tide- 
water terminus, still with its existing facilities for manufactories 
it will enable the company to dispose of their lands at very 
remunerative figures. By reference to the map it will be seen 
that the water front of the Canton property is extensive, extend- 
ing from Washington street, at the base of Fell's Point to the 
Lazaretto Point, forming the western boundary of the North-west 
Branch, lying opposite Fell's Point and Locust Point, making a 
water front of more than five thousand feet, with a depth of water 
varying from sixteen to twenty-six feet deep at the Port Warden's 
line. From Lazaretto Point, extending eastward, into Colgate's 
Creek, there are fifteen thousand feet water front. These fronts 
are in straight lines, and the number of feet could be greatly in- 
creased by the erection of piers and docks. Out of this water 
front the Canton Company still holds among its assets, 18,750 feet 
and in addition, 18,500 building lots and 900 acres of land. In 
concluding this brief review of the terminal facilities at Canton, it 
might be appropriate to quote the remarks of the managers of the 
Company in estimating the value of their property, in comparison 
with that at Port Richmond, Philadeljjhia : "only a few years 
ago that novr most important <][uarter of Philadelphia was a thrift- 



PEESEXT TERMINAL FACILITIES. 73 

less long shore village. The Reading Railroad M^aked it into life. 
More than 20,000 vessels received 2,800,000 tons of coal, at its 
one-and-a-half miles of double piered wharves in one year. A. 
city has supplanted gardens, and land has risen from $25 to 
$25,000 per acre. In contrast with Pore Richmond, the advanta- 
ges are largely on the side of Canton. The Port Richmond Rail- 
road is but a local coal bearing road. The Union is its equal as a 
coal bearing road, and the outlet of a system of roads which pene- 
trates three-fourths of the States in the Union. Richmond is 
above Philadelphia, and has no advantages of water. Canton is 
below Baltimore, and owns four-fifths of all the deep water on the 
north side of the harbor. The area at Canton is ample as that at 
Richmond. At its wharves, ships of the greatest burthen may re- 
ceive their freight direct from cars. On its spacious lands, there 
is room for depots convenient to store on a level with the cars the 
freight too heavy to hoist — for furnaces, forges, factories, mills and 
shops, into which trucks may carry material too heavy to bear the 
cost of frequent handling, in competition with cheaper labor; for 
the combination of land and water necessary to build and launch 
vessels, whether of wood or iron, where materials may be raised 
from the train to the stocks ; and on the high hills, sites for facto- 
ries, where the breeze will cool the air, that women and children 
breathe as they tread their spindles and the loom, and whence in 
return the trains will convey direct from factory, shop and ship, 
the products of Eastern labor to consumers in the far-off West, no 
longer enhanced in prices by storage, drayage, or commissions." 

It has been our aim in presenting our readers with an account 
of the terminal facilities of Baltimore, as they now exist, to present 
a succinct and truthful statement. The facts^ as given, are partly 
the result of personal examination, and are compiled in part from 
documents published under the auspices of the Baltimore and Ohio 
and Canton Companies. The exertions made to develop these ter- 
minal facilities and build up the trade and commerce of Baltimore 
should convince all that the owners are really in earnest, and have 
implicit confidence in the bright future of their city. They act 
with a faith that the future of Baltimore is whatever its citizens 
may choose to make it, and that natural advantages, superior to 
those of dny other seaport on the Atlantic seaboard are supple- 
mented by new and varied elements of prosperity and development. 



74 DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF FURTHER 



(VI.) DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF FURTHER 
DEVELOPMENT AT EXISTING TERMINI. 



Allusion has now been made at some length and it is hoped 
truthfully and impartially to the early foundation, growth and 
present condition of Baltimore, to its advantages of location for 
commercial and manufacturing purposes, to the situation of its 
harbor, its railroad connections and its present terminal facilities, 
it will now be demonstrated that there are difficulties in the way 
of further development at existing termini. And first as regards 
Locust Point the present tide water terminus of the Baltimore and 
Ohio Railroad. It is true that the company has utilized to the 
fullest extent the area of eighty acres at its disposal, it is true that 
the labyrinth of tracks systematically and economically arranged, 
bears abundant evidence equally with the magnificent warehouses 
and elevators and the substantial piers to the consistency with 
which the managers of the road have pursued the idea of placing 
the commerce of Baltimore on a firm and it might be truly said 
immovable basis, but the traffic has increased so rapidly since 
these improvements were first inaugurated, that even now from all 
appearances the steamship piers are taxed to their utmost capacity 
and a much larger water frontage would if practicable be secured 
to meet the requirements of an increasing business. The question 
arises can it be secured ? and even if secured can it be rendered 
available for the purposes contemplated without an expenditure of 
labor, material and money hardly in accordance with the require- 
ments? The site now occupied by private coal wharves might be 
purchased and warehouses for storage or commission merchants 
erected thereon, piers and wharves might be built a;t some iso- 
lated i)oints along the southern front of the present terminus, 
but the extension of such facilities would only enable the com- 
pany to provide for the grain and other merchandise traffic, 
and the coal, lumber and petroleum traffic must be sent to 
some other port equally convenient as far as depth of water and 



DEVELOPMENT AT EXISTING TERMINI. 75 

rail communication are concerned. The policy of concentrating at 
one point, petroleum, coal, lumber, general merchandise and grain 
is justly liable to criticism, the risk of accident and loss by fire, 
in the face of every precaution to the contrary, is intensified, and 
a railroad company is culpable for hazarding the success of its 
future operations by neglecting to discriminate and separate its 
various classes of traffic. It must be remembered, that the pros- 
pective business of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and its 
western connections, is destined to be much more diversified than 
formerly, in consequence of the much larger area of country which 
will be rendered tributary to it; each special item of traffic has its 
idiosyncracy, so to speak, and the volume of each will increase in 
a ratio corresponding with the facilities furnished for its storage, if 
necessary, and for its prompt and economical handling. It is not 
merely enough that there shall be unrivaled elevators for the 
grain trade, or substantial warehouses for the coffee and sugar; 
provision has also to bo made for the cotton crop of the South, for 
the tobacco of Ohio and Kentucky, for the wool of Illinois and 
other Western states, for cheese, bacon, lard, jjacked meats and 
miscellaneous articles, which now enter very largely into our 
present European export trade. Traffic will converge to tlie point 
where the greatest facilities are furnished, and heavy outlays will 
be necessary to perfect the plan which has been so auspiciously 
and systematically commenced. The secret of success in dealing 
with the public, is to anticipate their wants; and if this rule holds 
good generally, how much more applicable is it to a railroad cor- 
poration, whose prosperity hinges on a correct appreciation of the 
public requirements and an intelligent understanding of the future. 
It may be, that these anticipations as to the prospective require- 
ments and increased traffic of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
are sanguine, and premature ; it may be, that the growth of the 
import and export trade will not be as rapid as has been supposed 
from the comparative returns of the past three years; it may be, 
that the existing facilities at the terminus will not be severely 
taxed by the business originating on 268 miles of new road, all of 
which will concentrate at Baltimore ; it may be, that the coal oil 
trade will remain stationery, and that the coal and lumber trans- 
portation will be identical in volume with that of former years ; — 



76 DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF FURTHER 

all these contingencies are possible — but, are tliey probable ? Is 
it not more resonable to anticipate, that with the country recover- 
ing from the abnormal condition of depression under which it has 
labored during the past year, as a result of the panic; with the 
South especially, restored to affluence and prosperity, business will 
be transacted on a larger scale than ever heretofore, and a fresh impe- 
tus will be given, both to European trade and to all other branches 
of industry ? The careful student of such matters, arguing from 
analogy, and with a knowledge of the indomitable energy and 
pcrscverence of the American people will, it is thought, candidly 
admit that anticipations relative to the accommodations which will 
be required at Locust Point within the next two years, are not 
unfounded; and that, in providing for the grain and general mer- 
chandise traffic, apart from the coal, lumber and petroleum, the 
existing terminal facilities will be taxed to the utmost. The 
question naturally arises, how and where can the heavy traffic in 
the three last named articles be accommodated ; without increasing 
the cost of transportation beyond 'what it is at present? But, 
before answering this pertinent question, it may be assumed that 
it is impolitic to concentrate coal, lumber and petroleum in the 
same yard with general merchandise, or even in such close prox- 
imity to a large city, as Locust Point. An outlet for coal, lumber 
and petroleum can be found at Curtis' Bay, by a line which 
will save at least five miles of rail transportation, and where, 
at a moderate expense, wharves and other facilities can be fur- 
nished close to natural deep water, extending along two and 
a half miles of water front. If the owners of coal wharves at 
Locust Point can dispose of their property there at a very remu- 
nerative figure and procure equal, if not superior, facilities for 
shipment at a much reduced cost, is it not reasonable to suppose 
that they will avail themselves of the opportunity? If the lum- 
ber of Michigan and Indiana can be shipped as promptly and 
economically from Curtis' Bay as from the wharves of the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad at Locust Point, all lumber for export 
would concentrate there. The same rule would hold good to 
petroleum, only in a greater degree, because at Curtis' Bay and its 
vicinity refineries could be erected, and the manufacture of coal 
oil, naptha, &c., carried on to an unlimited extent. A railroad can 



DEVELOPMENT AT EXISTING TEEMINI. 77 

be built from Curtis' Bay to connect with the Baltimore and Ohio 
Bailroad Company at or near Relay, a distance of five and a half 
miles. The transfer of the heavy tonnage in coal, lumber and 
petroleum to this short line Avould relieve very materially the main 
stem of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and would enable its 
managers to leave the track from Relay to Locust Point or Cam- 
den entirely for passengers and for general merchandise. 

Again, at Canton, on the east side of the city, where it has been 
anticipated by the owners of the property and others interested in 
real estate, that all the railroads other than the Baltimore and 
Ohio would concentrate their business : there are serious difficul- 
ties in the way of further development which cannot be readily 
ignored. There is no doubt that Canton is a valuable location 
for manufactories of all descriptions, and the enhanced value of 
real estate will compensate the Canton Company for any risk which 
they have undertaken in making the investment and developino- 
the property. The Union Railroad and Tunnel can also be made 
remunerative, from the tolls collected on through traffic and from 
the charges on raw material, coal, &c., consumed by the various 
manufacturing establishments. The wharf property can also be 
made available for the shipment of goods manufactured at Canton, 
and doubtless many canning and packing establishments will be 
erected in proximity to the water front, where coasting craft bring- 
ing oysters, fish, and other produce to a market, can return laden 
with fertilizers. It will also be an available location for iron fur- 
naces and rolling mills, but it is very much doubted whether 
Canton will ever become such a general shipping point for foreign 
trade as has been intimated and anticipated by its owners. By 
reference to the map accompanying this pamphlet, it will be seen 
that the railroads centering at Baltimore, with one exception, 
reach the city limits on the north and west; here are their 
natural and geographical termini, and it is hardly to be antici- 
pated that the managers of these lines will force traffic down 
to Canton and through the city at a heavy rate of toll, when 
they can utilize their own existing lines to better advantage and 
obtain an outlet to tide- water at a much more moderate expense 
than they are now subjected to. Take the Northern Central 
Railway for example. Its managers have, it is true, leased, 



tS DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF FUETHER 

as stated above, some valuable water frontage from the Cauton 
Company, and it was stated some two years ago that they con- 
templated an immediate expenditure of $1,G00,000 to provide 
terminal facilities in the shape of grain elevators, coal wharves, 
&c. ; but, up to the present time, no such expenditure has been 
made, and whether the delay is attributable to an uncertainty 
about leasing their road to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 
or whether they have taken better counsel on the subject, is imma- 
terial to the point at issue ; one significant fact is indisputable, 
viz: that, in the face of city ordinances and contracts, looking to 
the removal and discontinuance of the old horse and mule tracks 
down Central avenue to Fell's Point, the tonnage, or rather the 
greater bulk of it, is carried to tide-water by horse power, and the 
Union Railroad, only receives a small proportion of the business. 
Had the Northern Central Railway Company a pecuniary interest 
in the Union Railroad and Canton property, the case might be 
different, and the traffic to tide-water might be diverted from its 
peculiar geographical route ; but the present interest of the North- 
ern Central Railway Company, is to utilize its own track and th<^ 
Baltimore and Potomac tunnel as far as practicable, if, by such a 
course, they can obtain a greater direct revenue for an enterprise 
in which they are pecuniarily interested, and at the same time 
procure equal tide-water facilities for an export and import trade. 
For example ; under the existing tariff over the Union Railroad 
to Canton, a car load of coal or other produce would pay an arbi- 
trary fixed toll of $2,00 per car. All this accrues to an outside 
and independent corporation. If the same car load were taken 
through the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, and thence by a line 
projected on the western limits of the city to the new tide- water 
terminus at Curtis' Bay, a large proportion of the tariff would 
accruedirectly to the tunnel, and render that costly property more 
remunerative; in fact, the Northern Central Railway Company 
would be instrumental in building up, for an enterprise in which 
they are deeply interested, a traffic which, if tributary to Canton 
would result in no pecuniary benefit to themselves. The cost ox 
the Tunnel proper, was $2,500,000, and it may be estimated that 
the other works from a point v/here the Union Railroad diverges 
to a point west of the Tunnel, where the new projected "West side 



DEVELOPMENT AT EXISTING TERMINI. 79 

Railroad will run to Curtis' Bay, have cost $500,000 more ; hence 
this short section of road should be made to earn at any rate 
$260,000 gross, in order to provide the interest on the cost and 
the annual repairs. The coal, lumber and petroleum traffic origi- 
nating on the line of the Northern Central Railway, if carried 
' from the junction with the Union Railroad to tide- water at Cur- 
tis' Bay, at the same tariif as that fixed by the Union Railroad 
Company, would at once produce a revenue for the Baltimore and 
Potomac Railroad Company, amply sufficient to meet the greater 
proportion of the interest on the cost of construction together with 
the expenses of maintenance, while in succeeding years, the reve- 
nue, after deducting operating expenses, would be in all i)robability 
largely in excess of interest requirements. Of course, there may 
be contracts in existence which prevent the consummation of such 
a scheme, and the Northern Central Railway Company may be 
obligated to adhere to agreements which are manifestly at variance 
with their own present and prospective interests ; but if such is 
not the case, and they are untrammelled, except in so far as a lease 
of property at Canton is concerned, the proper course to be pur- 
sued would appear to be remarkably plain and easy of solution. A 
certain amount of traffic will naturally go to Canton, to and from 
the various manufacturing establishments now in existence there; 
grain may and will, in all probability,^ find its way to the Gard- 
ner elevator at that point; but the bulk of the tonnage should, 
under ordinary circumstances, pay tribute to the road with which 
the Northern Central Railway Company is peculiarly identified. 
Again, it seems unnatural that traffic, originating on the line of 
the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad and its Southern connections 
destined for shipment from Baltimore, should, be sent fully six 
miles out of its way to tide- water at a cost which must increase its 
cost to the consumer very materially. All the Southern, trade 
could be sent to tide- water at Curtis' Bay on the line to be con- 
structed from Relay to the water front, (,5|^ miles,) where ample 
storage facilities will be furnished for cotton, tobacco, hemp and 
all other Southern products. The Western Maryland Railroad 
is also a completed line of railroad terminating at Baltimore, and 
it was always imagined that Canton was its, objective point, and 
that its tide-water terminus would be on the east side of the city. 



80 DIFFICULTIES IX THE WAY OF FURTHER 

To obtain control of the traffic of that road, and to build up at 
Canton a large depot for the products of the Cumberland Coal 
Basin from Williamsport, was the cherished idea of the Union 
Railroad Company, but this very plan appears to have been unin- 
tentionally yet decisively defeated by the geographical location of 
the Western Maryland extension from Owings' Mills to Fulton 
street, at the west end of the Baltimore and Potomac tunnel, and 
by the prohibitory tariff between that point and tide-water at 
Canton. Forty cents per ton is a charge, which precludes compe- 
tition, and efforts are now being made to secure an economical line 
to tide-water on the west side of the city. Surveys have been made 
of a line from Curtis' Bay to a connection with the Western Mary- 
land Railroad ; a company has been duly organized, under the gene- 
ral law of the kState, to prosecute the work, and there is little doubt 
that in the early spring Cumberland coal can be transported to 
tide-water from Williamsport at a rate which will enable the Wes- 
tern Maryland Railroad Company to double, if not quadruple, its 
existing coal business, and to compete on equal terms for coal 
traffic with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company. In 
alluding thus at considerable length to the causes which must, in 
all probability, prevent such a concentration of traffic at Canton as 
has been anticipated, no mention has been made of the fact that in 
consequence of the heavy filling and piling out to deep water, the 
cost of construction of terminal facilities must be largely in excess 
of what it <vould be at Curtis' Bay, nor that the whole drift of the 
wind up Chesapeake bay is against the Canton property, while 
the wharfage at Locust Point and Curtis' Bay is sheltered and, 
in the latter case, almost land-locked. The Canton property is 
valuable as an investment, and its value as a site for manufacto- 
ries of every description must increase annually as the advantages 
of Baltimore as a manufacturing centre are duly appreciated ; but 
its importance as a prospective shipping point for an extensive rail- 
road system, has been highly exaggerated ; and the difficulties in 
the way of a further extended development of terminal facilities at 
that point are, from an impartial stand-point, almost insuperable, 
and it is believed that experience and time will justify the conclu- 
sions now arrived at. The reader will note that no reference has » 
been made in this connection to the difficulties of developing 



DEVELOPMENT AT EXISTING TEEMINI. 81 

further terminal facilities at the harbor of Baltimore proper — the 
basin as it is termed. The filling up of this semi-stagnant pool, 
and obviating thereby a large annual expense now entailed on the 
city, is merely a question of time. Whether that time will be 
accelerated by the presence of a malignant epidemic consequent on 
the accumulation of such noxious deposits, cannot now be safely 
predicted, but the filling up of the present harbor across from 
Fell's Point, and the utilization of such newly-made ground for 
the erection of substantial warehouses, is one which should recom- 
mend itself to the city autnorities as a direct source of revenue, 
not of expense. It is a project which should be regarded favora- 
bly by all who are interested in perpetuating the city's enviable 
hygienic record. 



82 CURTIS' BAY — ITS ADVANTAGES AS A PORT 



(YII.) CURTIS' BAY— ITS ADVANTAGES AS A POET 
AND MANUFACTURING CENTRE. 



Curtis' Bay is situated about two miles due south from Balti- 
more, on the west side of Chesapeake Bay, and has an entrance 
between what are known as Fishing and Leading Points of more 
than a mile wide, accessible for vessels of any draft of water at all 
times, and for sailing vessels in every quarter of the wind, except 
due west, and even then there is abundant room (there being no 
shoals or reefs) for beating into the harbor. It appears extraordi- 
nary that the owners of this valuable harbor and water front have 
not attempted at an earlier date to develop the property which they 
have held for nearly a quarter of a century, and which, as includ- 
ing a water front of more than two and a half miles in addition 
to nearly 1,200 acres of fine land available for residences and 
manufactories, must be a j^rolific source of wealth to the present 
owners, " The Patapsco Land Company of Baltimore City ; " but it 
may be presumed that there were good and substantial reasons for 
such apparent inactivity, and the delay may have been advisable 
in view of the fact that it is only within the last two years that the 
railroad system of Baltimore has been perfected by the completion 
of the Baltimore and Potomac and Western Maryland Railroads, 
and that development of property in anticipation of the require- 
ments of traffic might have been premature. Now, however, when 
every thing indicates very clearly a bright commercial future for 
Baltimore, when its capacities for a large export trade can only be 
limited by the facilities furnished for shipment, and when by the 
completion of a new line to Chicago it may be anticipated that the 
demand for available wharf privileges will be considerably in ex- 
cess of the supply, it has been determined to bring Curtis' Bay and 
its superior advantages of location prominently to the notice of 
railroad managers, manufacturers, shij^pers and capitalists, and it 
will be surprising if these representations, truthfully and imparti- 
ally made, do not attract close and patient investigation ; it will be 



AND MANUFACTURING CENTRE. 83 

extraordinary if the most commodious and the safest harbor this 
side of Xew York, -^'ith the exception of Hampton Roads, (to 
which it is pronounced equal,) is not fully appreciated. Much has 
been said and written about the harbor facilities at Locust Point 
and Canton, but they cannot be compared with those which exist 
naturally, not artificially, at Curtis' Bay. Twenty feet can be ob- 
tained at Locust Point by persistent dredging and removal of the 
sedimentary deposits, and the docks of the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad Company are presumed to have a uniform depth of 
twenty-four feet, and yet, as stated in Article III of this pam- 
phlet, it is not many weeks since a steamer drawing nineteen feet 
of water was hard and fast aground within a biscuit toss of the 
large grain elevator of the railroad company. Channels for the 
coal vessels going to the coal wharves at Locust Point have also to 
be continually dredged out. At various points also on the Canton 
property water can be found averaging twenty to twenty-four feet, 
but these are exceptional cases, and in the majority of instances 
piers have to be built out a long distance into the water, so as to 
furnish suitable accommodations for vessels of heavy tonnage ; but 
that which is exceptional at Canton is ih-s rule at Curtis' Bay, and 
while certain merits are willingly conceded both to the Locust 
Point and Canton stations, while due merit is conceded to the 
enterprise and energy with which permanent developments have 
been carried on by the managers and owners of either property — 
still " The Patapsco Land Company of Baltimore City" claim that 
at Curtis' Bay the average depth of water is much greater than either 
at Locust Point or Canton ; they claim that such average depth, 
accordino; to the United States Coast Survev, is more than twentv- 
four feet at mean low tide, and that this depth can be found within 
one hundred and, in most instances, within fifty feet of the main 
land. Another decided advantage of Curtis' Bay as a shipping 
port lies in its accessibility without the use of a steam tug. Vessels 
coming up Chesapeake Bay can, when off the entrance to Curtis' 
Bay, shape their course direct to their wharves ; on the other hand, 
those destined for Locust Point or Canton, are compelled in con- 
sequence of the sinuosity of the channel above Fishing Point, to 
take a steam tug, and the expenses of coming into port are thereby 
materially increased. By reference to the map, it will be seen 



84 CURTIS' BAY — ITS ADVANTAGES AS A PORT 

tliat, according to the surveys, twenty feet of water can be found in 
Marley's Creek, fully two miles from the entrance to Curtis' Bay. 
It is claimed that Canton and the property of " The Patapsco Land 
Company" are equidistant from the business portion of Baltimore 
city, while a vessel docking at Curtis' Bay has four miles less to 
traverse before reaching its destination, than if it went to Canton. 
In addition to these advantages of Avater location, it will be seen 
that Curtis' Bay is much nearer by land to the principal trunk 
railroad running to the West and South than Locust Point ; the 
distance from tide-water to Relay is estimated at five and a half 
miles, consequently shipments from the West or South, consigned 
to Curtis' Bay, save in distance of rail transportation as against 
Locust Point, and this saving would be more especially noticeable 
in the coal traffic over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and 
in that which may reasonably be expected from the Western 
Maryland Railroad. Allusion has been made in Article YI to 
the various difficulties which prevent the further development 
of terminal facilities at Locust Point; everything which the expe- 
rience and ingenuity of man could suggest, has been done to 
utilize a contracted strip of land, and make it available for the 
shipments of coal, grain, oil, cotton and tobacco ; but the fact is 
patent that the area of land is not sufficient to meet the require- 
ments of all the traffic offering, and it seems absurd for a railroad 
company or individuals to give fabulous prices for property not 
immediately available, and the improvement of which, under exist- 
ing circumstances involves heavy outlay, when superior facilities 
and in an equally convenient location are easily within their 
reach. The natural advantages of Baltimore as the entrepot for 
all traffic to and from the South and West, have been shown in 
previous pages, and these advantages must be utilized; but they 
can only be thus utilized in connection with the water front which 
is rendered available by nature; — the only water front now un- 
occupied, having a depth of water for the largest vessels which 
are now employed in the European and South American trade ; — 
the only water front, from which an easy and economical rail line 
can be established in connection with the railroads now in opera- 
tion to the West and South. The reader will recognize the force 
of these remarks by reference to the accompanying map, and he 



AND MAXUFACTUEING CENTRE. 85 

will see how 'convenient Curtis' Bay will bo as a port, not merely 
for the Baltimore and Ohio, but for the Baltimore and Potomac, 
Baltimore and Drum Point, Northern Central and Western Mary- 
land Kailroads. As this pamphlet, with its accompanying maps, 
will doubtless fall into the hands of some who have not an oppor- 
tunity of making personal investigation into the correctness of 
statements furnished about geographical location, &c., it will not 
be inappropriate to state in this connection that " The Patapsco 
Land Company of Baltimore City " have used every effort to attain 
accuracy in details and in statistics ; nothing has been intention- 
ally exaggerated; due merit has been conceded to other honest 
endeavors made in furtherance of the commercial interests of Bal- 
timore, and the sole aim has been to show that their water privi- 
leges, if the last to be developed, are not the least meritorious ; 
and that the advantages destined to accrue to the city of Baltimore 
from the present movement towards providing additional harbor 
facilities, arc almos-t incalculable. The following additional statis- 
tics relative to Curtis' Bay may be instructive : 

Immediately within the mouth of the bay there are 20, 21, 22, 
23 and 24 feet of water. At the east point of what is known as 
Cabin Branch, there are 24 feet ; and at the opposite point close 
to the shore there are 21 feet. At the mouth of Curtis' Bay, that 
is from Fishing Point to Leading Point, it is one mile in width, 
with water varying from 22 to 24 feet. From Ferry Point, mouth 
of Cabin Branch to Sledd's Point, on the opposite side of the bay, 
it narrows to 2,000 feet, but immediately expands to more than 
half a mile wide, being nearly twice the width of the Patapsco at 
the Lazaretto, inside of which is the harbor of Baltimore, the pro- 
perty of the Canton company and Locust Point. Vessels drawing 
19 feet of water cannot enter the harbor of Baltimore, the depth 
at the Port Warden's Line being but from 8 to 18 feet. This last 
fact is pertinent and significant. 

Again, it is claimed by " The Patapsco Land Company," that the 
construction of the Maryland and Delaware Ship Canal will have 
a marked Influence on the success of their harbor at Curtis' Bay, 
and in this respect they are right; because the great length of the 
bay intervening between the ocean and the shipping wharves is a 
great annoyance and cause of delay to sailing vessels in which, af 



86 CURTIS' BAY — ITS ADVANTAGES AS A POKT 

any rate for some time to come, a large j)roportion of the coastwise 
coal traffic will be undoubtedly carried. Once let this proposed 
canal be built, shortening the distance of navigation to European 
and Eastern ports 225 miles, and the harbor of Curtis' Bay will 
swarm with vessels, and Baltimore, instead of lagging behind in 
the race for commercial supremacy, will occupy a foremost place; 
and the geographical short rail line advantages, in connection M^ith 
low port charges, will more than compensate for the prestige 
claimed by New York in consequence of being the great mouied 
centre of the North American continent. 

It may be fairly presumed that the superior location of Curtis' 
Bay as a port will be candidly admitted by all who examine 
the map, or who have fortunately an opportunity to investigate 
its situation personally ; but in developing their property " The 
Patapsco Land Company" believe that a large and influential city 
will spring up there ; that on the various creeks and indentations 
of the bay manufactories of every description Avill be established, 
and that on the rolling land rising gradually back from the bay, 
which commands magnificent views of the Chesapeake Bay, and 
the lands on both sides of the river, country residences will be 
erected ; in fact, the proposed town of Pennington may become 
for the city of Baltimore what New Brighton, Hobokeu and 
Brooklyn are for New York. Among the arguments adduced 
in favor of the position that Baltimore was destined to become 
a large manufacturing centre, was the existence at that point of 
cheap fuel, cheap rents and a cheap market. The same argu- 
ment is applicable to Curtis' Bay. To this point will con- 
verge the coal of the Cumberland Region and that of the Ly- 
kens Valley, here contiguous to the water and with every facility 
for handling economically the raw material or shipping his goods 
the manufacturer will erect at a cheap ground rent his factory, or 
the artizan on similar favorable terms his house; here will be the 
terminus of the Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad and the 
varied market productions of Western and Southern Maryland ; — 
its fruit, its butter, its eggs, its vegetables and fish, to say nothing 
of its oysters and game, will find at all times a ready sale. Here it 
may be noted that the Curtis' Bay property has within itself so to 
speak a great clement of wealth in the valuable clay which is found 



AND MANUFACTURING CENTEE. 87 

at various places in the tract and is estimated according to the 
opinion of experts to cover many hundred acres. Of course the 
depth of these clay banks can only be ascertained by actual de- 
velopment, but if the banks are only 10 feet thick, they will yield 
a royalty of $4,500 per acre. More importance may be attached 
to the clay deposit, from the fact that the supply in the vicinity 
of Baltimore is rapidly becoming exhausted, and the supply 
is now not equal to the demand. The Baltimore pressed brick 
commands a very high price in the Southern and Eastern markets 
and a large trade may soon be built up on the property of " The 
Patapsco Land Company" the clay having been actually tested and 
experimented with produciug brick of unsurpassed quality and 
beauty. Again the whole country between Baltimore and Curtis' 
Bay and further south into Anne-Arundel county is full of iron 
deposits, found in the clay. The ore from these pockets, when 
smelted yields metal of the very best quality and justly celebrated 
for its strength, ductility and tenacity. This iron ore is now carted 
to Baltimore and finds a ready market, but as soon as this property 
is developed and a connection by rail established for bringing the 
coal to tide water, furnaces, rolling mills, foundries, machine shops 
and car wheel or locomotive manufactories will come into exis- 
tence; — their owners being mainly influenced by the attractions of 
cheap fuel, cheap location and cheaj) material. Saw mills, planing 
mills and other establishments for the manufacture of furniture 
will also be erected. Allusion is made to this point because it is 
believed that the lumber traffic of the Baltimore and Ohio, West- 
ern Maryland and Northern Central Railways will ultimately 
converge to this port, the facilities at Locust Point not being suffi- 
cient to accommodate the increase of general traffic. It is stated 
that large shipments of American walnut are now made to Europe ; 
and as the Chicago line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad taps 
at Auburn a road which traverses between that point and Terre 
Haute, extensive forests of walnut and other hard wood, there is 
no reason why shipment in bulk of furniture woods should not 
become an important item in the traffic from Curtis' Bay to trans- 
Atlantic ports. Again as has been previously stated on page 33, 
Oyster, Frait and Vegetable packing is an important item in the 
manufacturing industries of Baltimore, and there is no reason why 



88 CUETIS' BAY — ITS ADVANTAGES AS A POET 

Curtis' Bay as situated in the immediate vicinity of the great fruit 
growing and vegetable farms from which the city is at present 
supplied, and as easier of access to the small vessels employed in 
the coasting trade should not participate in a manufacture which 
is remunerative and in which a large number of hands are con- 
stantly employed. Lime kilns could also be erected in connection 
with the oyster canning establishments and the lime could readily 
be disposed of for agricultural or building purposes, or the shells 
could be sold to the blast furnaces by which they are used in the 
smelting of iron. Here the coal oil brought from Parkersburg 
and Pennsylvania could be refined, tanks erected and suitable ac- 
commodations furnished for shipment to Europe ; — vessels with an 
outward cargo 'of petroleum Avould return laden with the marble 
of Italy or the fruits of the Mediterranean. Here also abattoirs 
might be erected and packing houses built far away from the other 
manufacturing establishments in the town at the head of the bay, 
and here also a large business might be transacted in the manufac- 
ture of guano, chemicals and fertilizers. In alluding thus briefly 
to the reasons why Curtis' Bay is in all probability destined to 
become equally important as a shipping port and a manufacturing 
centre, the aim has been to suggest ideas which are in consonance 
with the experience of other places, which have attained a high 
stage of development under much more unfavorable auspices and 
with less facilities. The acquaintance of each individual reader 
with the idiosyncrasies, so to speak, of his own trade or business 
will doubtless suggest from the brief resume of the conveniences 
at Curtis' Bay where or how he can make a profitable investment, 
and thus participate in the future prosperity and growth of the 
new shipping port. 

Before concluding this notice of the advantages of Curtis' Bay 
as a port and manufacturing centre, it may be appropriately noted 
that the project of making a canal to connect the city of Baltimore 
with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal at or near Georgetown, has 
been resuscitated, and at the last session of the Legislature the 
*' Maryland Canal Company " was reincorporated. It is believed 
that the debouchure of this canal will be at Marley's Creek, and 
Curtis' Bay will naturally be materially benefitted by the volume' 
of traffic which must be coincident with the completion of the 



AND MANUFACTUEING CENTRE. 89 

new enterprise. Half a century has nearly elapsed since the 
Legislature of the State of Maryland evinced a deep interest in 
the construction of a canal which should have Baltimore as a ter- 
minus, of a great highway to the coal fields of the Alleghanies, 
and passed an act in June, 1825, incorporating the "Maryland 
Canal Company," to cut a canal from some convenient point on 
the Potomac, intersecting or continuing the Chesapeake and Ohio 
Canal to the city of Baltimore. To further the enterprise, a sub- 
scription of «f 200,000 was made at that time by the State. This 
subscription was subsequently revoked in 1827, although the feasi- 
bility of constructing a canal had been ascertained by a critical 
survey instituted under the auspices of the United States Govern- 
ment. Since that time, until the last session of the Legislature 
the enterprise has slumbered, although various attempts have been 
made to organize different companies to carry through the work of 
connecting Chesapeake bay with the Potomac; now, however, 
new life has been infused into the project — a company has been 
organized with a capital of $1,000,000, and the city of Baltimore 
has been authorized to subscribe to, or endorse the first mortgage 
bonds of the reincorporated company to an amount not exceeding 
$1,500,000, as to the Mayor and City Council may seem advisable. 
As the preamble of the act incorporating the company states that 
the route of the proposed new canal is not more than 28 J miles, it 
may reasonably be assumed that Marley's Creek is the objective 
point of the new work. If the Maryland and Delaware Ship 
Canal is constructed, the impetus given to the coal traffic from the 
Cumberland region will be immense, and the city of Baltimore 
would receive corresponding benefit. 

The reader will doubtless be aware that the Chesapeake and 
Ohio Canal was originally projected as its title imports to connect 
the Ohio River with the Chesapeake Bay, but it has never yet 
progressed beyond Cumberland, and it is only within the last six or 
seven years that the coal tonnage has assumed a magnitude to 
insure a sufficient revenue for defraying the ordinary operating 
expenses, much less to meet the interest obligations of the company. 
The tonnage has however increased from 482,325 tons in 1868 to 
778,802 tons 1873, and although the universal depression in trade 
incident to the panic has eflfected prejudically the earnings of the 



90 CURTIs' BAY — ITS ADVANTAGES AS A POET, &C. 

company during the current year, still they have the satisfaction 
of knowing that their property is now in first class condition and 
that the arrearages of interest are being gradually paid off, also 
that when the Western Maryland Railroad which connects with 
the canal at Williamsport is completed through to tide-water, a 
large coal traffic must be sent by that route to Baltimore and be 
shipped from there to Eastern ports and to the West Indies and 
South America. It may also be noted that steps will shortly be 
taken to extend the canal from Cumberland west to the slack water 
at the head of the Monongahela River. Surveys have been made 
of a greater portion of the route under the auspices of the United 
States Government and the route by the North Branch of the 
Potomac has been declared practicable, but the appropriation was 
not sufficient to make instrumental surveys of what is known as 
the Will's Creek route, and hence no definite estimate has been 
arrived at of the cost of completing the canal to a connection with 
the Western waters, but it is believed that it would in no case ex- 
ceed $20,000,000. 

A report, presented to Congress from the Senate committee on 
transportation routes to the seaboard, indicates that the only solu- 
tion of the cheap transportation problem was to be found in the 
establishment of through water lines from the West to the East, 
and it was claimed that such water facilities were imperatively 
demanded by the producers of the West, and by the mining and 
manufacturing interests of the whole country. It is not within 
the province of this pamphlet to discuss whether the position 
taken by the Senate committee was correct or the reverse ; it is 
sufficient to know that a strong pressure will be brought to bear 
on the general government to induce them to aid these schemes of 
inland water transportation, and should their efforts be successful ; 
should the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal be completed through and 
a connection by canal established between the Potomac and the 
Patapsco, near Baltimore, Curtis' Bay will assume addi-tional im- 
portance as a shipping and manufacturing centre, and a new 
impetus will be given to the petroleum traffic which can never be 
anticipated under other and existing circumstances. 



PLAN OF THE PATAPSCO LAND COMPANY, &C. 91 



(YIII.) PRESENT PLAN OF THE PATAPSCO LAND 
COMPANY OF BALTIMORE CITY FOR DEYELOP- 
ING THEIR PROPERTY. 



It has been previously stated that the Curtis' Bay property had 
been held for a long term of years by its present owners ; — held 
under a firm and abiding conviction that the intrinsic value of 
such property would be eventually appreciated, and its necessity 
in connection with the commercial and manufacturing develop- 
ment of the city of Baltimore candidly recognized. The present 
stockholders of "The Patapsco Land Company" have orga- 
nized with a capital amply sufficient for carrying out well con- 
ceived plans for harbor facilities and terminal improvements, 
Avhile the active direction and management are in the hands 
of those who are socially and commercially identified with the 
past and present history of the city of Baltimore, and whose 
names and character are guarantees that what is done will be 
icell done, and that in every movement the commercial and 
manufacturing interests of their native city will be aggrandized. 
A plan of the property will be found in connection with this pam- 
phlet, and on it are delineated on a small but accurate scale some of 
the improvements now contemplated, and in the execution of which 
the management will employ the most able and most experienced 
talent of the country. Special allusion is made to this fact, as the 
plans and designs for the docks, piers and wharves emanate from 
Mr. Simpson, of New York, a veteran expert in works of this 
character, and one whose talent is attested by the successful con- 
struction of docks, elevators, &c., in the sister cities of New York 
and Philadelphia. Fortunately the location of the property obviates 
the necessity of any very heavy preliminary expense in erecting a 
bulkhead all along the water front contiguous to deep water, and 
the company propose to sink cribs, where the water is twenty-four 
feet deep, and to fill in from such bulkhead line solid to the main 
land. This bulkhead will commence at or near what is known as 



92 PLAN OF THE PATAPSCO LAND COMPANY 

Stonehouse Cove, and following as straight a line as is compatible 
with the formation of the shore, will extend to the further end 
of what is known as " Cabin Branch." Further extensions and 
additions will be made to this bulkhead as they are demanded by 
the requirements of an increasing traffic, but in the meantime it is 
believed that in making this permanent improvement the wants of 
many years are amply provided for. At right angles Avith this 
bulkhead, wharves will be extended to deep water, and will be of 
such a length as to accommodate vessels of the largest size. Fire 
proof receiving warehouses will be erected ou these wharves, and 
it has been determined that the uniform space between each wharf 
shall, as at Locust Point, be at any rate one hundred feet in the 
clear, thereby securing ample dockage for two vessels lying side 
by side. Elevators will also be built, and provision will be made 
for coal wharves, at the most convenient point near the north end 
of the water front, where the high ground will obviate to a great 
extent the necessity for extending trestle work far into the bay, 
from which to dump the coal into vessels. In constructing this 
bulkhead and wharves, the company propose to treat all the hori- 
zontal-side ends and tie timbers above the first foot above water 
by the American wood carbolising process, and thereby secure a 
permanent character for all their structures. Experience shows 
that timbers above the first foot above water not treated in this 
manner show decay in seven years, and in some instances become 
so rotten as to be blown away by the winds or torn off by the 
waves. The managers of " The Patapsco Land Company," profit- 
ing by this experience, are determined, even at an increase of 
original outlay, to prevent, at any rate for a long term of years, 
any perceptible deterioration of their property. Along the whole 
length of this bulkhead, and running back three hundred feet 
from the inside thereof, will be a quay three hundred feet in width, 
capable of accommodating, if necessary, twenty-one tracks, and 
from such quay there will be switches or turnouts to every wharf, 
special care being taken in the construction of such wharf or 
wharves that room shall be left on each side for a single railroad 
track. It is proposed that on the ground at the back of this three 
hundred feet, on the side facing the entry to Curtis' Bay, ware- 
houses should be erected by the merchants adopting Curtis' Bay 



FOR DEVELOPING THEIR PROPERTY. 93 

as their shipping port, Avhile on the "Cabin Branch" side, in the 
rear of the quay alluded to, manufacturing establishments -will be 
located. A large proportion of the coasting trade will be accom- 
modated at Marley's Creek, where, as the reader will observe by 
reference to the map; there is a good depth of water, and where, 
by the simple erection of a bulkhead, wharfage facilities can be 
furnished, and the cargo discharged promptly into warehouses 
situated contiguous to the bulkhead. At or near this point will 
be found a convenient place for ship building, and it is believed 
that one if not more of our well known iron ship builders will be 
-attracted to a locality where they can procure iron of the very best 
quality at a much lower figure than at Chester or Philadelphia. 
In connection with this Marley's Creek, it may be noted that' in 
all probability it will be the debouchure of the Maryland division 
of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, in which event the traffic in 
coal and other produce converging to that point would be very 
large. In connection with the tracks laid on the quay, 300 feet 
in width, extending along the inside of the bulkhead, will be the 
" Connecting Road " from Pennington to Relay, a distance of 
about five and a half miles ; and the " Baltimore and Western 
Maryland Railroad " extending from the present terminus of the 
Western Maryland Railroad, on the west side of the city, to tide- 
water at Curtis' Bay. It is proposed that the two railroads just 
mentioned, as well as the Baltimore and Drum Point Railroad, 
should come into the city on one road, which, as far as laid 
through the city, shall be 100 feet in width, capable of accom- 
modating, if necessary, seven tracks, and as the ground admits 
of such an arrangement, the approach to tide-water will be on a 
gradual decline, the streets being so laid out that they will cross 
the railroad above grade and not interfere with the conduct of 
transportation. In the survey of the railroad from Pennington to 
Relay care has been taken that the gradients shall not exceed 
twenty feet to the mile, said gradients to be in every instance in 
favor of the eastward bound traffic. In building this short con- 
necting railroad "The Patapsco Land Company" contemplate 
profiting by the experience of English railway managers, and all 
the cross-ties will be treated by the American carbolising process. 
The life of a tie will thus be guaranteed for at least twenty-four 



94 PLAN OF THE PATAPSCO LAND COMPANY 

years, and permanent economy will be secured in maintenance. 
The superstructure will be of steel, and in its fastenings and other 
appurtenances, more especially in the spikes, which Avill be screw, 
will be adapted to the requirements of a heavy traffic. It has not 
yet been dererrained whether the company will own its own motive 
power or allow the railroad companies availing themselves of its 
line to haul their own trains to tide-water; but however that mat- 
ter may be settled one thing is certain, only such a tariif of tolls 
over the road will be charged as will pay a fair interest on the cost 
in addition to the charges for maintenance, and a reserve fund to 
compensate for depreciation. Apropos of this "connecting railroad" 
to be built under the auspices of " The Patapsco Land Company," 
and to be used in common, under certain general regulations, by 
the various railroad companies availing themselves of these superior 
tide-water facilities, it may be noted that it aifords to the manufac- 
turer advantages which cannot be over-estimated, because he is not 
dependent, as in too many instances, on one line for his transporta- 
tion, whether of raw material or of the manufactured product ; he 
will not be compelled to take the coal of the Consolidated Coal 
Company at a high figure, when their cars stand side by side in the 
yard, with those of the Northern Central and Western Maryland 
Railroads; cotton from the South can come to him equally as well 
by the Baltimore and Potomac, as by the Washington Branch 
Railroad. If the tariff on petroleum from Parkersburg or West 
Virginia be not in accordance with his views, a satisfactory rate 
can be obtained from the Northern Central on coal oil from the 
wells in Pennsylvania. The business man will appreciate fully the 
advantages of such an independent situation, and the management 
of this " connecting road," not in the interest of one corporation, 
but of all, will tend in a great measure to foster manufacturing 
industries, and to attract capital to the new town of Pennington. 
In laying out the city proper, in which as the Company owns 
1120 acres in fee and 313 acres by perpetual lease, there arc 
17,196 city lots, it is the intention to provide at once, in the survey 
and platting for the grades, sewerage, water mains, gas mains, Ac, 
and it will be so laid out, that throughout the whole scheme there 
will be a strict uniformity, as far as the necessary requisites for 
cleanliness, health and comfort are concerned. It is not to be 



FOR DEVELOPING THEIR PROPERTY. 95 

expected that all these city improvements can be made at once, 
but this much will be done now : the correct, prospective grade of 
each street will be determined, and in regulating the grades perfect 
sewerage will be kept constantly in view. Relative to water 
supply for the city, it is proposed to utilize the Patapsco river, and 
bring the water from some point near Ellicott's Mills to the rising 
ground at the back of the city, whence it can be readily distributed 
and will have sufficient fall to be available in any emergency. 
There may be natural obstacles in the way of j)rocuring an abun- 
dant water supply from the source mentioned, but the geography 
of the country would indicate that such a course were feasible; if 
not, other plans will be devised for securing what is of paramount 
necessity for manufacturers and residents, viz : an inexhaustible 
supply of pure water. As soon as the survey of the city has been 
completed and correct plans furnished, the land will be thrown 
open for sale, or will be leased to manufacturers or merchants 
contemplating the erection of permanent improvements, at a low 
ground rent. In the interim, until the property which is the 
furthest removed from the water front is required for building 
purposes, it will be rented on short leases to market gardeners, 
who will appreciate the value of rich, arable land, susceptible of a 
high degree of cultivation, in proximity to the markets of Baltimore 
and Pennington. Among the various improvements projected by 
" The Patapsco Land Company," is the establishment of a steam 
ferry from Curtis' Bay to such landings in the city as would be 
necessitated by the requirements of business. This is more neces- 
sary, in view of the fact that the Baltimore and Drum Point Rail- 
road will, in all probability, have its terminus at Curtis' Bay, and 
access to the business portions of the city will be an immediate 
requirement. Should experience, however, demonstrate the unre- 
liability of such a ferry in all kinds of weather, efforts will be 
made to secure the construction of a free bridge over the Patap- 
sco River, and by the establishment of a street car line between 
Pennington and the present terminus of the Charles Street Rail- 
road, make a direct connection with South Baltimore and the 
business portion of the city. In reference to this free Bridge, it 
may be noted, that nothing would tend to enhance the value of 
farming land in Anne Arundel county more than its construction; 



96 PLAN OF THE PATAPSCO LAND COMPANY, &C. 

because the tolls charged over the only bridge now existing are 
virtually prohibitory, being at the rate of six cents per passenger 
and fifty cents for a wagon and pair of horses. If this monopoly 
were broken up, and free passage or a minimum rate of toll 
inaugurated, an unprecedented stimulus would be immediately 
given to agriculture and to fruit raising in the county south of 
Curtis' Bay, and numbers of the working class would adopt 
Pennington as their home, and avoid many of the expenses inci- 
dent to a residence in the city of Baltimore proper. 

In stating thus much about the plans of " The Patapsco Land 
Company'' for developing their property, the reader must care- 
fully bear in mind that experience and time may and in all proba- 
bility will suggest certain modifications, but still one idea will be 
kept prominently in the foreground, viz : that what is done shall 
be well done, and in every arrangement the interests of the mer- 
chant, manufacturer, shipper and artisan will be carefully guarded, 
in fact the aim is to create a cheap port for the commerce of the 
country ; a eheap location for the manufacturer ; and a cheap home 
for the mechanic or ordinary laborer, and at the same time in 
making these general improvements for the benefit of the com- 
munity at large to guarantee for " The Patapsco Land Company " 
a fair return for their investment and the risk which they have 
undertaken. 



CONCLUSION. 97 



CONCLUSION. 



Much more might perhaps have been written on this subject, 
and the superiority of Baltimore as the great entrepot for the 
commerce of the "West, South-west and North-west might have 
been more graphically portrayed by one who had more ample 
opportunities for studying its location and its various surround- 
ings, but the aim has been to adhere strictly to the truth, and not 
to allow the opinion to be warped by mere chimeras of an imagi- 
native brain. Those of our readers who are acquainted with the 
city of Baltimore, and who by long residence are thoroughly con- 
versant, as they imagine, with its idiosyncrasies, would do well to 
pay a personal visit to Curtis' Bay and examine for themselves 
whether the posijtion taken in this pamphlet in reference to its 
peculiar adaptation for the great shipping port of the city is not 
tenable and in accordance with the dictates of a sound judgment. 
The future of Baltimore rests with her citizens — with those high- 
minded and public-spirited men, who have consistently predicted 
for her an era of commercial prosperity, and who, in pursuance of 
a grand and ennobling idea, have tunnelled mountains and spanned 
mighty rivers with the view of making the traffic of a continent 
converge to the city of their birth and the home of their brightest 
aspirations. Can it be imagined that self-interest or other minor 
considerations will now divert them from the path which has been 
so consistently pursued in the past? Can it be otherwise than 
that they will throw their impartial and undivided influence in 
furtherance of a scheme which will redound to the credit and per- 
petuate the commercial prominence of Baltimore ? 

There are others, however, into whose hands this pamphlet may 
fall, who have merely known Baltimore historically, and who have 
never studied carefully the geographical advantages which it pos- 
sesses as a commercial and manufacturing centre. To these the 
careful perusal of facts embodied in this pamphlet, may suggest 
7 



98 CONCLUSION. 

new ideas, and they may be led to examine personally and see 
whether these things are so, and whether the " Monumental City/' 
either regarded as a home or a place for the investment of capital, 
is not fully equal, if not superior, to any other city on the Atlantic 
seaboard. Should these anticipations be realized, and should a 
fresh and lively interest be awakened in the present and future of 
Baltimore, " The Patapsco Land Company " will be amply repaid 
for the labor and expense which has been incurred in bringing 
Curtis' Bay, and its advantages of location, to the notice of an 
intelligent and appreciative public. 



CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION 

OP 

The Patapsco Land Company 

OF BALTIMORE CITY. 



This Certificate, made this twenty-fifth day of September, 
in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-four, by Joseph W. 
Jenkins, Hiram Kaufman, Joshua Hartshorn e, William S. Rayner 
and William C. Pennington, all being citizens of the United States, 
and of the State of Maryland, 

Whereas the parties aforesaid are desirous of becoming incor- 
porated under the name and for the purposes hereinafter stated, 
under the provisions of the Maryland Code of Public General 
Laws, in relation to Corporations. 

Now, therefore, they do hereby certify: 1. That the names in full 
and places of residence of the said Applicants, are as follows : 

Joseph Wilcox Jenkins, resides at No. 97 Monument Street, in 
the City of Baltimore. 

Hiram Kaufman, resides at No. 432 Pennsylvania Avenue, in 
the City of Baltimore. 

Joshua Hartshorne, resides at No. 86 Cathedral Street, in the 
City of Baltimore. 

William Solomon Kayner, resides at No. 316 Madison Avenue, 
in the City of Baltimore. 

William C. Pennington, resides at No. 36 West Eager Street, 
in the City of Baltimore. 

2. The name of the said Corporation will be The Patapsco 
Land Company of Baltimore City, the said Corporation being 
formed in the said city. 

3. The objects and purposes for which such incorporation is 
sought, are the buying, selling, mortgaging, leasing, improving, 
disposing of, or otherwise dealing with, land in the State of Mary- 
land, and the procuring, preparing for market, transporting and 
selling any products of its lands ; also the acquiring, or construct- 
ing and maintaining, selling, leasing, or otherwise disposing of any 

L.ofC. 



100 CERTIFICATE OF INCOEPOEATION. 

bridge, pier, wharf, floating or dry dock, or marine railway, eleva- 
tor or factory ; also the constructing, owning and operating a line 
or lines of telegraph within the said State ; also the navigation of 
the waters of said State by steam, sail or other boats or vessels, 
and the transportation of goods and passengers therein. 

The term of the existence of the said. Corporation shall be forty 
years from the date of this Certificate. 

4. The operations of the said Company will be carried on in 
Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County and the City of Balti- 
more, and its principal office will be located in the said city. 

5. The Capital Stock of said Company will be the amount of 
Three Million Dollars, in Thirty Thousand Shares of One Hun- 
dred Dollars each. 

6. The said Capital Stock will consist of Thirty Thousand 
Shares of One Hundred Dollars each. 

7. The affairs of the Company shall be managed by five Direc- 
tors, who will be the parties to these presents for the first year. 

In testimony whereof the parties aforesaid have hereto set their 
hands and seals on the day and year first above written. 



^'*"^^^' JOS. W. JENKINS, tsEAL.? 

HIRAM KAUFMAN, T^^IZ? 



Geo. McCaffray. 



JOSHUA HARTSHORNE, ?seal 

C s^ 

WM. S. RAYNER, ?seal? 

WM. C. PENNINGTON. t^i^ 

C — --<> 

State ov Maryland, City ov Baltimore, to wit: 

I hereby certify, that on this twenty-fifth day of September, A. D. 1874, 
before the subscriber, a Justice of the Peace of said State, in and for the City 
aforesaid, personally appeared Joseph W. Jenkins, Joshua Hartshorne, Hiram 
Kaufman, William S. Eayner, William C/ Pennington, and severally acknow- 
ledged the foregoing instrument to be their respective act and deed. 

GEO. MTcCAFFEAY, J. P. 



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